


Phantom Rocker: World Tour

by Ability_King_KK



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Berlin (City), Danielle Really Wants a Monkey, Danny Fenton Needs A Hug, Danny Fenton has PTSD, Danny Knows His Music, Danny Needs a Vacation, Danny is the Great One, Day At The Beach, Ember Crushes Hard on Danny, Ember Demands Answers, Ember Just Wants Her Baby-Pop, F/M, London, Los Angeles, Mentions of Dan Phantom, New York City, Original Ghost Villains, Parental Danny Fenton, Parental Ember McLain, Paris (City), Phantom Family, Protect the Ghostling, Protective Danny Fenton, Protective Ember McLain, Pure Evil Ghost, Tokyo (City), Underage Drinking, Vacation in a Vacation, Vancouver, Where in the World is Danny Phantom, but not really, world tour
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 54,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28583331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ability_King_KK/pseuds/Ability_King_KK
Summary: Danny is given the chance to go on vacation by himself to get away from the menace known as reporters. While on vacation he runs into not only his little clone, but a certain rock diva who had planned a world concert tour. Joining together, the three travel the world and take it by storm.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Danielle "Dani" Phantom, Danny Fenton & Jack Fenton & Maddie Fenton, Danny Fenton & Jazz Fenton, Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley & Sam Manson, Danny Fenton/Ember McLain, Ember McLain & Danielle "Dani" Phantom, Ember McLain & Danny Fenton
Comments: 11
Kudos: 47





	1. Prologue

Summertime. The time of year every kid and teenager eagerly looks forward to, as it means no school for three months. While most of the youth were ready for summer vacation, one youth was dreading it.

“This sucks,” muttered out a raven-haired boy as he and his two friends stepped out of the Casper High for the last time of the year. The three were making their way down the street, on their way to their homes.

“Don’t worry, Danny! I’m sure summer won’t be too bad,” replied the young mayor of Amity Park.

“Easy for you to say, Tuck. Don’t forget I’ll have to deal with those vulture that like to surround my house,” growled out Danny. “Sometimes I regret revealing my identity.”

“Don’t say that, Danny. If it weren’t for you, everyone would be dead,” said their Goth friend.

“Yeah,” relented the half-ghost hero with a sigh. “I just wish I could enjoy this summer. Too bad I’ll be dealing with vultures, Tuck will have his mayoral duties, and you’ll most likely be dragged around to whatever your parents have planned.”

“Don’t remind me,” muttered out Sam with a grimace.

“The point is that without you guys, summer vacation is going to suck eggs.”

“Can you feel the love?” joked Tucker, causing Danny to smirk and Sam to roll her eyes.

“I’m sure things will turn out for the better, Danny.”

“I can only hope, Sam. I can only hope,” said Danny, sighing once more.

-:-

Danny soon reached home. Grimacing at the crowd of reporters, he quickly went invisible and intangible to bypass them and into his house. Once inside, he turned off his powers and let another sigh.

“Yay, summer,” he said sarcastically.

It was then his parents and sister entered the room.

“Hi, sweetie! Are you glad that summer is finally here?” asked his mother with a smile.

“If by “glad” you mean ready to be hounded by vultures, then yes, I’m oh so happy!” replied Danny, the sarcasm still there.

“Have no worries, Danny-boy! Your mother and I have been talking and agree that the best solution is to go on vacation!” exclaimed his father with his signature grin.

Danny raised an eyebrow at that. “You sure that’s a good idea, Dad? You and I both know the vultures will follow us wherever we go.”

This caused his sister to merely smile. “Which is why YOU will be the one going on vacation, little brother.”

“…Wait, what?”

The teen looked at his family with a blank look. What the hell were they saying?

“Danny, while all of us could use a break from the media…”

“They’re vultures, Maddie!”

Maddie ignored her husband for the moment. “As I was saying, while all of us could use a break, it’s clear that you need it the most, so we’ve decided that you should go on vacation by yourself.”

“…I’m still confused.”

Jazz rolled her eyes. “It’s simple, Danny. Mom, Dad, and I will keep the vultures busy, while you sneak out to go on vacation. By time they realize that you’re not here, you’ll be long gone and enjoying yourself!”

“It’s foolproof!” added Jack.

Danny turned to his parents. “And you’re both okay with the idea of me going on vacation with no adult supervision?”

He was surprised when his mother brought him into a hug.

“Danny, you’ve proven time and time again to be very responsible. Your hero status proves that. You’ve earned this, don’t you think?” asked Maddie.

“But what about the ghosts that come to Amity?”

“Don’t worry about that, Danny-boy! Your mother and I will keep an eye on things here!” exclaimed Jack as he ruffled his son’s hair.

Once free, Danny fixed his hair. “Well if you’re really sure about this…”

“We’re sure, Danny,” replied Maddie.

The boy couldn’t help but grin happily. Looks like summer won’t be so bad after all.

-:-

Some time later, Danny had a duffle bag packed with the essentials. Turning to his family, he gave them one last smile and wave, promising to keep in contact. He then went ghost and flew through the roof of his house, invisible and intangible.

Floating in the sky, he looked down at the vultures and gave them a taunting grin, despite the fact that they couldn’t see him. With that he took off, ready to see what his vacation had in store for him.

PROLOGUE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Short, but this IS just the prologue after all. As promised, here is the beginning of “Phantom Rocker: World Tour”. The main plan is that each location visited will be three chapters each; two chapters focused on the location and the third chapter will focus on what’s going on in Amity Park. This way all characters can have some focus.**
> 
> **Believe it or not, this was originally going to be a My Hero Academia fic. The main concept would have been that the Dekusquad (Izuku, Iida, Ochaco, Tsuyu, Tokoyami, Shouto, and Aoyama) would be sent to various locations around the world by a villain’s teleportation Quirk and would have to stop said villain from stealing various world landmarks. I changed it to a Danny Phantom fic when I figured that an “around the world” concept fit it more than it would MHA. Of course since I already had some places planned out for the MHA concept, I’ll be mentioning the differences at the end of each stop on Danny’s vacation.**


	2. New York Groove Act 1

Danny flew at high speeds towards his destination. He smiled as he heard the hustle and bustle of the big city. Some people might think he’s weird to want to come here for a relaxing vacation, but this was a place he’s always wanted to visit.

“Hello, New York City!” exclaimed the half-ghost boy before flying down for a landing.

Going invisible, he flew into an alleyway to transform back into his human half. Stepping out from the alley, he grinned.

“Time to hit the town!”

Walking down the sidewalk, and making sure not to bump into anyone, he made a mental checklist of all the landmarks he would need to visit.

_‘Let’s see, there’s the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Times Square, and of course…’_

It was then his stomach let out a growl. Letting out an embarrassed chuckle, he made his way over to a nearby hot dog vendor.

“One with everything please,” he said as the vendor got started.

As he waited, a familiar voice spoke up that caused Danny to freeze in place.

“Hey mister! Give me three dogs with everything!”

Whipping his head around and looking down, he found a little girl who was pretty much a mini version of him.

“Danielle?”

It was the little one’s turn to whip their head around and her blue eyes widened in surprise before she smiled at the sight of the one person she trusted above all others.

“Danny!” exclaimed the child as she glomped the older boy. “What are you doing here?!”

“I should be asking you that,” replied Danny, reaching down to pat her on the head. “I’m actually on vacation.”

“Oh,” was the response he got. He watched as she looked around for something. “Does that mean the rest of your family is nearby?”

“Nope. It’s just me, Danielle.”

“If that’s the case, can I hang out with you for awhile?”

Danny could tell just by looking at her eyes that she was lonely. He really wished she would just stop traveling the world and come home. She might not think it, but she did have family, a real family. Not whatever Vlad was.

“Sure thing, Danielle,” replied Danny with a smile as he paid the vendor for the four hot dogs.

Giving two dogs to Danielle and holding the other two, the halfas went on their way, eating as they conversed.

“Never would have guessed I’d meet up with you in New York City of all places, Danielle,” said Danny before taking a bite. “So why are you here anyway? Sightseeing?”

“I wanted to see a gorilla!”

The older halfa looked at the ghostling with a raised eyebrow. “A gorilla?”

Danielle nodded excitedly. “Yup! Like the one that climb that tall building!”

Danny could feel his mouth twitch, wanting to become a smile. So Dani must have heard of or even seen _King Kong_ at some point, although it seemed that she didn’t know the difference between reality and a movie. He’d have to fix that later. Right now though…

“Well I don’t know about that, but I do know a place where you could see a gorilla.”

The little one’s eyes lit up as she followed the older halfa.

-:-

Danny had to grin as he watched the little one look at the primates in awe. He had taken Danielle to the Central Park Zoo, knowing that she would enjoy it.

“How come they’re so small?” asked Danielle, looking up at Danny.

“Real gorillas don’t get as big as you think, Dani. King Kong is just a movie character and not real,” explained Danny.

“Aw, I was hoping to see a giant gorilla,” she said with a pout.

Danny chuckled as he ruffled her hair. “What? Are these gorilla’s not good enough?”

“I didn’t say that,” mumbled out the girl with a slight blush. She then turned back to Danny. “Can we see the other animals?”

“That’s what a zoo is for, isn’t it?”

A few hours later, the two left the zoo and walked through the park, with Danielle talking adamantly about all of the animals they saw.

Danny smiled as he listened to her excitement, but the good times had to end when a wisp of blue came out of their mouths.

“Just great,” said Danny, pinching his nose in frustration.

“Hey, we can take ‘em!” stated Danielle, ready for a fight.

“I was hoping to enjoy my vacation,” stated Danny. He then gave Danielle a look. “And we’re not going to just rush in. We’re technically in unfamiliar territory, so who knows what we’ll be up against. Just follow my lead and wait for my signal.”

Danielle pouted, but followed Danny anyway. They were lucky to find a place to transform away from prying eyes. Now in ghost mode, the two went in the direction their ghost sense pointed them to.

As they got closer they hid behind some trees when they found them. Peaking out from his hiding spot, Danny’s eyes widened by what he saw. There were four ghosts. Three of them were dressed as old-school mobsters, with the short one in the middle the apparent leader, but they weren’t what surprised Danny. It was the familiar fourth ghost.

I hope you realize that since you’ve come into my territory, girl, that you’ll have to pay a fee of sorts, see,” said the short mobster ghost in the stereotypical mobster accent coming from his fat lips.

Green eyes narrowed as blue flames flickered in agitation. “What the hell makes you think I’ll give you any money, shorty?”

That must have been the wrong thing to say as shorty’s thugs, who looked like they could be twins, aimed Tommy guns at the girl. Shorty then narrowed his own red eyes at the girl. “You want to hold a concert here in my city, you pay the price, McLain.”

She grit her teeth in anger. She wanted to beat the ever afterliving hell out of these dipsticks, but she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to dodge those ghost bullets of theirs without people chanting her name.

Before anything else could be said, a strong ecto blast collided with the mobsters, sending them crashing into the nearby trees.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to point guns at anyone?” taunted Danny as he floated in the air and glared down at the mobsters.

Ember’s eyes widened in shock at seeing her enemy here of all places. “B-Baby-Pop?!”

He ignored her, keeping his focus on his opponents. He watched as they stood and the short one glared up at him. His two goons seemed to be scared though.

“B-Boss! Th-That’s…”

“I know who it is, you idiots!” hissed out shorty. He glared up at Danny. “What are you doing in my territory, Phantom?!”

“Ah, so you’ve heard of me! Too bad I have no idea who you are,” replied Danny with a taunting grin.

“They call me Louie the Lip and I want you out of my territory!” replied Louie with a growl.

“Last I checked the Big Apple was a public place that anyone could enjoy. So why a two-bit thug like you thinks he owns the entire city is beyond me.”

It was clear that Louie was losing his temper. “Bugsy! Mugsy! Break his kneecaps!”

“Right, Boss!”

Before the two goons could fly up to Danny, they were shot down by more ecto blasts.

“Danny! I thought you said you’d give a signal!” squeaked out the mini Phantom as she glared at the original.

Ember had a blank look on her face as she watched the scene. First Baby-Pop comes out of nowhere and picks a fight with Louie the Lip and now there’s a baby version of Baby-Pop right before her eyes. What the hell was going on?!

The green-skinned mobsters looked at Danielle in curiosity.

“When did Phantom get a sidekick?” asked Bugsy.

“And why does she look like Phantom?” asked Mugsy.

“Never mind that, you idiots! Just get them!” yelled out Louie, angry that things weren’t going his way.

Unfortunately for them, Danny was on a higher level. He was able to outmaneuver them and fight back with punches and kicks. Needless to say, they were losing.

“B-Boss, I think we need to get out of here,” stated Mugsy, looking ready to fall over.

Gritting his teeth, Louie made a decision. “This ain’t over, Phantom!”

With that, the mobsters escape, much to Danny’s chagrin. With a sigh, he made his way over to the fiery-haired girl.

“You okay, Ember?” he asked, looking concerned.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “What are you doing here, Baby-Pop?”

“Glad to see you’re doing fine, Ember,” he replied in a deadpan tone.

“Answer the question, Baby-Pop! Why are you here and what’s with the Mini-Pop?!” demanded Ember, pointing at Danielle. This caused the little one to pout.

“Believe it or not I’m here on vacation,” replied Danny as he crossed his arms, giving Ember a look of suspicion. “Why are YOU here though? Louie mentioned something about a concert?”

The rock diva grit her teeth in frustration. Why did Baby-Pop have to be here? He’ll ruin everything! “So what if I am?!”

“Ember, I might not have known you were here in New York, but if you’re planning to brainwash people again I WILL stop you,” stated Danny, looking serious. “I don’t know why you even need to brainwash people in the first place considering how talented you are.”

That caught Ember’s attention. Baby-Pop thought she was talented? She felt her core increase in temperature. Unbeknownst to most people (aside from Kitty. Damn her curiosity!), Ember had a crush on the halfa before her. To hear him admit that she was talented made her happy. Of course she wasn’t going to let him know that just yet.

She let out a huff. “Fine, if you must know I had planned on a world concert tour and New York was my first stop. And before you say anything, no, I was not planning on brainwashing anyone.”

It was true, too. After the last few times she tried to brainwash people and losing to Baby-Pop, Ember was fed up with it. Every time she tried, Baby-Pop would ruin it. So she figured if she tried to perform legitimately, maybe she could achieve her dream for real. She just hoped Baby-Pop would believe her.

“A concert? Danny, can we go see it? Please? Please?” asked Danielle, turning towards her current guardian.

Danny had a blank look on his face as he watched his little clone bounce up and down in excitement. “I don’t know, Danielle…”

“But Danny!”

“…Okay, seriously, what’s with the Mini-Pop, Baby-Pop? And don’t avoid the question this time!” yelled out Ember, giving the boy a narrowed look.

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I’ll…I’ll explain later. Right now, it’s starting to get dark and I need to find a hotel for Danielle and I to stay at.”

“I get to stay at a hotel? I usually have to find a bench or an alleyway for the night!”

The two ghostly teens looked at the ghostly pre-teen with wide eyes before Danny scooped her up and held her under his arm like a sack of potatoes as he started to walk away. “Definitely need to find a hotel.”

“Hold up, Baby-Pop!” called out Ember, following after them.

“Not now, Ember.”

She merely rolled her eyes. “If you need a place to stay, I’ve already got a room.”

He looked over and gave her a suspicious look. “You’re offering us your room?”

“That’s right,” replied the rock diva. “You did scare off Louie for a bit, so it’s the least I can do. Besides, if what Mini-Pop said was true, there’s no way I’m allowing that to happen.”

“What’s this? Ember McLain showing compassion for someone else?” questioned Danny with a teasing grin.

She glared at him, but the slight blush diminished the threat. “Even I’m not heartless enough to let a kid sleep in the cold, Baby-Pop!”

“Yeah, yeah…Thanks, Ember.”

“No problem. Now follow me.”

Doing as he was told, he followed after Ember while trying to keep Danielle from squirming.

-:-

The next morning, Danny let out a yawn as he stretched out the kinks in his body. Despite how big Ember’s room was it still only had one bed, meaning he slept on the couch. He was fine with this, considering he wasn’t going to force Ember to give up her bed.

He looked over at the other couch where Danielle was still sleeping, curled up under the blankets. He couldn’t help but smile, although he then frowned when he realized this was probably the first proper night’s sleep she had in awhile. Hopefully she’d stick with him until the very end so he can keep watching over her.

Standing up, he walked over towards the phone. He and the others needed breakfast.

“Hello, room service? I’d like to place a breakfast order.”

Meanwhile in the master bedroom, Ember let out a moan as she sat up in her bed. Rubbing her eyes, she thought back to the events of last night. Was that all a dream? Was Baby-Pop really here in New York and staying with her?

“Knowing my luck, it was a dream,” muttered Ember to herself with a slight pout.

Getting out of bed, she put on a robe and headed out to the living room…only to find Baby-Pop accepting a cart of food from a waiter.

“Morning, Ember,” said Danny, before turning back to the waiter.

Ember’s eye twitched in anger. Did this idiot just order room service on her dime?! Yeah, she could afford it, but that’s beside the point, damn it!

“Baby-Pop!”

“Yes, Ember?” questioned Danny as he signed something and sent the waiter on his way.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” she demanded, her hair rising in anger.

“I ordered the three of us breakfast,” replied the halfa as if it were obvious. “I even paid for it.”

Ember blinked in confusion. “Wait, YOU paid for it?”

“Well, yeah,” said Danny with a shrug. “I wasn’t going to charge it to your hotel bill when I can pay for it myself.”

He held up a piece of plastic. Ember looked at the black card with a blank look as she took in the “DP” symbol on it.

“…Really? You have your own credit card?” questioned the girl with a deadpan tone.

She was surprised when Danny grimaced. “Trust me, I didn’t want it to begin with.”

“Then why the hell do you have it in the first place?”

“…Ever since I revealed my identity to the world, Phantom merchandise became a thing and I was more or less rolling in the dough.”

“Oh poor you,” replied Ember, sarcasm front and center.

He glared at her. “Hey, unlike you I don’t like being in the spotlight! Anyway, with all of the money I was making, I originally wanted to just donate it all to various charities, but my mom convinced me to keep at least half of my earnings in an account just in case I ever needed it.”

“…So how much money do you actually have?”

“More than enough to support myself through life, I guess. I’d rather not be rich, if I’m honest.”

“Why would you NOT want to be rich?” questioned the diva, looking at him with wide eyes. Everyone she knew would love to be loaded!

“Trust me, being rich is not what it’s cracked up to be,” he muttered out, a certain memory coming to mind. “Not only that, but I have this annoying admirer back home who would only cling to me more than she already does if she knew I was rich.”

Ember could feel annoyance, anger, and jealousy build up in her. If she ever met this “admirer” she’s knocking out some teeth!

“Mm, what smells so good?” asked a tired voice.

The two teens looked over to find a tired Danielle looking at them over the couch. She was currently rubbing the sleep sand out of her eyes.

“That would be breakfast, Danielle,” replied Danny with a smile. He then took off the coverings from the plates. “Let’s dig in!”

Ember and Danielle stared wide-eyed at the food consisting of bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast, sausage, and a pitcher of orange juice. It was pretty nice looking spread.

“You sure know how to treat a girl, don’t you, Baby-Pop?” asked Ember with a slight grin.

Danny merely rolled his eyes as he set the plates on the table. The three then began to eat, although the two older ghosts had to keep the little one from inhaling her food.

-:-

Elsewhere, Louie the Lip was scowling in anger as he threw darts at a picture of Danny Phantom that was taped to a dartboard.

“So what are we going to do, Boss?” asked Bugsy.

“Yeah, how are we going to get the money if Phantom is here?” asked Mugsy.

“You leave that to me, boys. If McLain thinks she can hide from us behind Phantom, she has another thing coming,” replied Louie as he threw a dart.

It hit the mark right in the middle of Danny’s eye.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **First stop on the vacation is New York City, where Danny has met up with both Danielle and Ember. Unfortunately, Danny will have to deal with a mobster trying to extort money from the rock diva.**
> 
> **As for Ember’s feelings for Danny in this, unlike in “A Phantom and His Baby Girl” where Danny outright doesn’t trust Ember, he’ll be on more friendly terms with her here.**


	3. New York Groove Act 2

“So Baby-Pop, why exactly New York of all places for a vacation?”

Danny glanced over at Ember before looking forward. He, Ember, and Danielle had finished breakfast and then headed out to see what the city had in store for them.

He gave off a shrug. “Nothing big, really. Some of the shows I watched as a kid, like _Spider-Man_ , _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ , and _The Real Ghostbusters_ , were always set in New York. I guess I just found New York interesting because that and always wanted to visit one day.”

Ember had a blank look on her face. “The only thing I recognized was _Spider-Man_.”

“Then you’re in for a treat when I show you the others,” replied Danny with a grin.

“Yes, because I want to watch shows about turtle ninjas and what I’m guessing are ghost hunters,” said Ember in a deadpan tone.

“They’re not as bad you think.”

“Whatever you say, Baby-Pop.”

“Danny! Where are we going first?” questioned Danielle, catching the older teens’ attention.

The older halfa could only grin.

-:-

“Really, Baby-Pop? Really?”

“What? Afraid you’ll fall flat on your butt?”

She glared at him and that smirk of his. Of all the places they had to visit first, she was not expecting THIS.

“I’m not afraid! I know how to ice skate, dipstick!”

Indeed. Danny had taken them to the world famous ice rink of Rockefeller Center. While Ember looked annoyed by the decision, Danielle looked both intrigued and worried.

“Danny, I don’t know how to skate.”

“Don’t worry, Danielle. I’ll be there every step of the way to teach you,” replied the boy. He then turned to Ember. “You coming?”

She let out a sigh of frustration. “Fine! I still don’t get why you wanted to come here first.”

“Personally I’d rather have come around Christmas time to see the lighting of the tree, but that still doesn’t change the fact that this is a place you HAVE to visit while in New York. Besides, I figured you’d like to see the statue of Prometheus.”

“…Who?”

He pointed at the bronze statue next to the ice rink. “Prometheus. According to myths, he’s the reason humans have fire because he stole it from the gods. So technically you wouldn’t even have your powers if it weren’t for him.”

Technically she got her powers another way. A way she’d rather not think about because of what led up to it. She wasn’t going to correct Baby-Pop though. For one thing, there was no way she was going to tell him about something so personal. Secondly…Baby-Pop’s version was less tragic for her.

She let out another sigh, this one more lighthearted. “So how are we going to do this? None of us have any skates.”

“Leave that to me,” replied Danny with a grin as any icy aura appeared around his hand.

Not soon after Danny had created blades of ice that he attached to everyone’s shoes, effectively making makeshift ice skates. Luckily, since they were made from ghost ice, it would be a long time before they melted.

While Danny and Ember had no problem getting onto the ice, Danielle was still hesitant.

“Remember, Danielle. You can float a little if it feels like you’re about to fall,” said Danny, comforting the little one.

That was all she needed to hear. She stepped onto the ice and was about to slip and fall, but rebalanced herself with her ghost powers. She beamed in happiness when she was able to stand perfectly.

The three ghosts then began their skate session, with Danielle soon challenging Danny and Ember to a race. Being a beginner and being as small as she was, it was no surprise that Danielle came in last, but it was a surprise to Danny that Ember beat him.

“Told you I knew how to skate,” said Ember with a cocky smirk as she skated circle around Danny.

Danny returned the smirk. “That you did. A talented musician, singer, AND figure skater. Any other talents I should know about?”

She had to fight off her blush when he called her talented again. “N-No, that’s all of them.”

After having their fun at the ice rink, it was time to leave and see the other landmarks before the day was done.

“So where to next?” asked Danny, letting someone else have a turn at choosing their next destination.

“I want to see the building the gorilla climbed!” exclaimed Danielle.

Ember raised an eyebrow at that. “Gorilla?”

“She apparently found out about King Kong recently,” explained Danny. “That’s actually why she came to New York to begin with, to see Kong.”

Danielle nodded her head. “But Danny said he’s not real, so he took me to the zoo to see real gorillas!”

Purple lips wanted to twitch into a smile. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but Mini-Pop was adorable. Now that she thought about, Baby-Pop STILL hasn’t told her who Mini-Pop was exactly. She’ll have to remember that for later. Right now…

“So we’re going to the Empire State Building, huh?”

-:-

Danielle stared up at the building in wonder. If it was this big…

“Just how big WAS Kong?” questioned the ghostling.

“Didn’t you watch the movie, Danielle?” asked Danny in confusion. He was under the impression that she had somehow seen the movie.

She shook her head no. “I heard some people talking about it and thought it sounded cool!”

Well that explained that. “You know, if you want, we can always watch it when we return to the hotel later.”

“Really, Danny?” asked Danielle, looking excited.

“Sure. We can watch the original version or the version that came out two years ago. Fair warning though, the newer one is about three hours long.”

“Three hours?” questioned Ember, surprised. “Man, movies have come a long way since the 70s.”

Danny let out a chuckle. “Yeah, but I bet most of the old-school movies are still better than what they put out today. Sort of like music in that regard.”

Ember grinned at that.

The three walked into the building, where Danielle immediately started to look around.

“Don’t wander off too far, Danielle! This is technically an office building,” stated Danny.

“Well aren’t you a mother hen,” said Ember with a smirk.

Danny frowned at that. “You’d be protective too, if you knew the truth.”

“You going to tell me?” questioned the rock diva in a tone that only Danny could hear.

“…Later, when it’s just you and me. I promise.”

She could live with that. If it’s as important as Baby-Pop is implying, it would be for the best to speak of it in private.

“Danny!” called out Danielle, catching their attention. Turning, they gained blank looks when they saw what Danielle was pointing at.

It was a cart full of gorilla plushies, each wearing an “I Love NY” shirt.

“Let me guess. You want one?” asked Danny. He chuckled when the little one nodded excitedly. “Alright, alright.”

With new plushy in hand, Danielle held it close, happy for the gift.

Ember could only shake her head in amusement. Baby-Pop was going to spoil Mini-Pop one of these days.

“So is there anything else to do here, Baby-Pop, or are we done?” asked Ember.

“We could head up to the observation deck, if you want.”

Giving off a shrug, she followed the halfa duo to the elevators. After a long ride to the top, the three soon came to look over the entire city.

“Wow!” said Danielle in awe.

“You know, we probably could have just flown and got the same view,” stated Ember, turning to Danny.

“True, but this just feels like the better experience,” explained Danny. “Plus, since Louie is still out there somewhere, it’s probably for the best if we keep a low profile for now.”

The rock diva grimaced at the mention of the short mobster. Her hair flickered in agitation at not being able to get her hands on that dipstick for trying to ruin her concert.

“Baby-Pop, I know where we can go next.”

-:-

Somehow, Danny was not surprised with Ember’s choice. It was right next to Broadway, so what better place than Times Square for a girl who craves to be on stage all the time.

“This is where I’m holding my concert!” admitted the fiery girl with a grin.

Danny raised an eyebrow at this. “Wait, is it even legal to hold concerts here in Times Square?”

“I don’t see why not. Dick Clark always had those New Year parties here,” replied the girl. “By the way, is he still having those parties?”

Danny moved his hand in a “somewhat” motion. “Kind of. He unfortunately had a stroke three years ago, so other people had to take over hosting. He does make occasional appearances though.”

Ember frowned when she heard this. She hoped the man was doing well. She remembered the first New Year’s party that was held back in ’73, where she stayed up to watch it with her parents. It was one of the very few good memories she had.

Shaking her head, she gained a look of determination. “Anyway, I don’t care if it’s legal or not! Times Square is where I’m playing!”

Danny rolled his eyes while Danielle bounced up and down in excitement.

It was then they heard the roar of an engine and people screaming. Looking over where the noise was coming from, their eyes widened to see a 1920s Cadillac **flying** towards them.

“What the hell?!” exclaimed Danny and Ember.

Before anyone could react, just as the car was about to pass them, a pair of arms reached out the window and snatched up Danielle.

“Hey! Let go! Danny!” cried out the ghostling as the car sped away.

The two teens gaped like fish at what they just witnessed, but it only took a second before their eyes became red with anger. Danny transformed into his ghost half and took off after the car with Ember right behind him.

Meanwhile, Danielle was now bound and gagged as she sat between the short mobster from the night before and one of his goons. The other goon was currently driving. She glared at Louie, but was ignored.

“Boss, are you sure this was a good idea?” asked Mugsy.

“I came up with it, didn’t I,” replied Louie. “We use the brat here as a hostage and Phantom will be bow to our demands.”

“Um, Boss?” said Bugsy, looking in the rearview mirror.

Louie let out a sigh of frustration. “What is it, Bugsy?”

“I think we’re in trouble.”

The short mobster raised an eyebrow before turning to look out the rear window, only for his eyes to widened in fear as he saw Phantom right on their tail.

“Gun it, Bugsy!”

Not needing to be told twice, Bugsy sped up to try and get away from the enraged Phantom. Weaving through the tall buildings, they soon ended up over the river and headed towards a familiar statue.

“You’re not getting away!” yelled out Danny as he went into overdrive. He was able to reach the car and tore the door right off, surprising the gangsters. The next thing they knew was that they were being pummeled by Phantom.

The car soon crash-landed on Liberty Island, but not before Danny grabbed his little clone.

“Ember! Catch Danielle!” shouted out Danny before tossing the little one.

Luckily, Ember was able to catch her with ease. Once in her arms, Ember removed the gag from Danielle’s mouth.

“He just threw me!” exclaimed the little one, not looking happy.

“As long as your safe, that’s all that matters to Baby-Pop right now, Mini-Pop,” said Ember. She then glared down to where the car crashed. “And since you are safe now, a certain dipstick is going to get it.”

The three mobster ghosts crawled out from the wreckage, only to freeze in terror from the nasty glare Danny was giving them.

“You really are a two-bit thug if you have to target children to get what you want, aren’t you, Louie?” questioned the white-haired teen.

Gritting his teeth, Louie’s temper was getting the better of him. “This is my town, Phantom! I run this place! All will do as I say!”

“And yet, here I am defying you.”

“Grah! Bugsy! Mugsy! Make him Swiss cheese!”

Doing as they were told, the goons took out their Tommy guns and opened fire. Luckily for Danny he was able to dodge the bullets with ease and managed to keep their eyes on them instead of Ember and Danielle. But he needed to end this.

Creating a ghost shield, he barreled towards the mobsters, the bullets deflecting off of the shield. The goons, unfortunately for them, didn’t even bother getting out of the way and Danny crashed right into them. When the smoke cleared, Danny stood tall while Bugsy and Mugsy lay in a heap. Danny then pulled out a gadget that Ember was all too familiar with.

Louie knew he was in trouble when he watched Danny suck up his goons in that fancy looking thermos. So while Danny was busy with the idiots, Louie tried to slink away. Too bad he bumped into something in the process. Looking up, he shirked back in fear at the red-eyed glare of one Ember McLain.

“Tell me, Louie. Ever wanted to know what a baseball feels like?”

The next thing Louie knew was Ember swinging her guitar like a baseball bat, sending him flying through the air.

“Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!” screamed out Louie.

“It’s going, going,” said Danny as he took aim with the Fenton Thermos. He then pressed the button and the beam of light hit Louie. “It’s gone! Grand slam by Ember McLain!”

“This isn’t over, Phantom! I’ll get you for this! Mark my words!” shouted Louie as he fought the suction, but it was for naught as he was soon trapped.

Danny then capped the thermos with a smirk. “Not the first time an enemy declared revenge.”

Ember rolled her eyes as she and Danielle walked up to him. She then gave him a narrowed look and crossed her arms. “You brought your thermos with you on vacation.”

“Just because I’m on vacation, doesn’t mean I’m stupid enough to think I won’t run into any bad ghosts,” replied Danny in a deadpan tone. “This was more for a “just in case” situation.”

“And what was your plan once you captured them?” she questioned.

“…I haven’t really thought that far along, to be honest.”

Ember pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. This was the boy she loved, ladies and gentlemen. She was about to admonish him when everything just stopped.

“Time out.”

Ember and Danielle jumped at the sudden voice, but Danny could only smirk. His smirk became a grin when a certain timekeeper made his appearance.

“Clockwork!”

The blue-robed ghost smiled at the boy as he shifted through his various ages. “It is good to see you, Daniel.”

“Likewise. So what brings you to New York of all places?”

Clockwork let out a chuckle. “This and that, I suppose.”

As the two males conversed, Ember was trying to process what the hell she was seeing. How and why was Baby-Pop acting all buddy-buddy with **Clockwork** of all ghosts?! Clockwork was the top of the food chain in terms of power in the Ghost Zone, so how the hell is Baby-Pop friends with him?! She glanced over at Danielle, who looked more confused than anything. Given her young age and the fact that she wasn’t a full ghost, that was a given.

Glaring over at the older halfa, she demanded answers. “Baby-Pop! Why are you talking with the old timer like you’re friends?!”

“Ah, Miss McLain. It’s nice to see you as well,” said Clockwork, giving her a smile.

Ember gulped nervously. Every ghost knew better than to get on Clockwork’s bad side. She turned back to Danny with a look of fear in her eyes.

“It’s okay, Ember. Clockwork’s cool.”

“Do you even know who he is, Baby-Pop?!”

“Well, yeah. He’s the keeper of time.”

“And you’re friends with him?! How the hell did that happen?!”

“…I’d rather not say,” replied Danny, looking away from the diva.

She was about to demand answers, but Clockwork intervened.

“Daniel will tell you when he is ready, Miss McLain. Do not push him until then.”

If it were anyone else, she would have argued, but this was Clockwork. You’re a complete fool if you go against Clockwork.

She let out a nervous cough. “So to repeat what Baby-Pop asked earlier, why are you here, old timer?”

The timekeeper smiled once more. “I am here to help with your problem, Daniel.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “My problem?”

“Surely you don’t plan on keeping Louie and his men in the thermos, are you?”

“Wait, you’re going to take them off my hands?” asked Danny, confused. “Aren’t they a bit beneath you to keep at your place?”

Clockwork shook his head in amusement. “They won’t be staying with me, Daniel. I have asked someone else to look after them.”

At this, Clockwork opened a doorway and Danny’s eyes widened before narrowing at who stepped out of it.

“Walker.”

Indeed it was the prison warden and his right-hand man Bullet. The two looked at Danny with their own narrowed looks. Off to the side, Ember stood in front of Danielle, to keep her away from Walker.

“Stand down, you little punk. Clockwork’s already told me everything that’s going on, so I don’t have a choice but to call a truce,” stated Walker.

“You really expect me to believe that?! You turned the whole town against me just because I outsmarted you on multiple occasions!” exclaimed Danny, not taking his eyes off of the warden.

“It is true, Daniel,” said Clockwork. “I have informed Walker that you will be encountering many enemies on your current journey and that someone will need to come a collect them from you once they’ve been captured.”

The halfa had a blank look on his face before he facepalmed. “Well there goes my vacation.”

“Do not worry, Daniel. I believe you’ll still be able to enjoy your vacation as it continues,” stated Clockwork, taking a quick glance towards Ember. “Now then, why don’t you release your catch so Walker and his men may take them in.”

Danny grimaced at the thought, but relented since he knew Clockwork wouldn’t let them escape. Uncapping the thermos, he pressed the reverse button and released the mobsters. Once free, they locked eyes on Walker and froze in terror.

A grin formed on Walker’s face, sending shivers into the mobsters’ cores. “Well, well, well. I wasn’t expecting Louie the Lip of all ghosts to be the first pickup in this deal.”

“W-W-Walker!” yelped Louie. He tried to make a break for it, but Walker grabbed him while Bullet caught hold of Bugsy and Mugsy.

“I must say, punk, I’m impressed,” said Walker. “Louie’s been giving my men the slip for years and yet you managed to catch him.”

“Sounds like you need new men,” said Danny in a deadpan tone, earning a glare from Walker. “No, seriously. I’d put Louie just slightly above the Box Ghost in terms of threats.”

Ember let out a snort as she tried to hold in her laughter.

Walker narrowed his eyes. It sounded like the punk was telling the truth and if that was the case, what have his men been doing this whole time if they couldn’t handle this? Looks like he was going to have to take them through the ringer.

“Regardless, just make sure you keep up with the good work, punk.”

With that, Walker and Bullet dragged their new prisoners back to the prison, leaving behind a stunned Danny.

“Did…Did I just get a compliment from **Walker**?”

“Are pigs flying? Did hell freeze over?” questioned Ember, equally stunned.

“…Pigs can fly?” asked Danielle, confused.

“I’ll explain later, Mini-Pop.”

Danny turned to Clockwork. “So what now?”

“That is your decision, Daniel. I must return to my tower. And do not worry about Walker. He know what will happen if he tries anything against you under my watch.”

Time then resumed and Clockwork was gone. Danny then turned to the girls, finding Ember trying to process what just happened and Danielle looking at the ground in sadness.

“Danny…”

“Danielle?”

“I’m…”

Before she could finish, Danny had brought her into a hug, much to her surprise.

“Don’t you dare apologize for getting captured,” stated Danny. Her eyes widened, signifying that, that was exactly what she was about to do. “It’s not your fault as none of us saw that coming, so don’t worry about it. You’re safe now and that’s all that matters.”

Her lips trembled and she buried her face into his shoulder, as she held on tight to him.

Ember looked away from the scene, feeling that this was between Baby-Pop and Mini-Pop.

When Danielle let go, Danny reached over and wiped away the remaining tears. “Feel better, Dani?”

She nodded slightly and replied in a small voice. “Yeah.”

“Come on, let’s head back. Have to get ready for that concert tonight, right?”

The girls looked at Danny with wide eyes.

“Baby-Pop?”

He looked over his shoulder to give her a smile. “What? I thought you were going to hold that concert in Times Square?”

She didn’t even try to fight the grin that came to her face. “Damn right I am! Watch out, New York! Ember McLain is on the stage!”

“You mean I’m really going to see a concert?” asked Danielle, happiness returning to her eyes.

“Yup! So let’s get back to the hotel so we can get ready.”

With no argument, the three flew back to the hotel.

-:-

Danny had to admit, the concert was fun. He and Danielle got to stand back stage and watched Ember do her thing while hundreds of New Yorkers cheered her name.

After the final encore, the crowd cheered as Ember walked off stage and towards the Phantom duo.

“That was awesome, Ember!” exclaimed Danielle.

“Thanks, Mini-Pop,” replied Ember, ruffling the little one’s hair. “Always nice to hear compliments from a fan.”

Danny rolled his eyes, but could tell Ember was just having some fun. He then noticed Dani let out a yawn.

“Looks like someone needs to get to bed.”

“I’m not tired,” mumbled out the ghostling, but the moment Danny lifted her up into his arms she was out like a light.

“Normally I’d be offended that someone fell asleep to my music, but this will be the only exception,” said Ember with a slight giggle.

Danny let out a chuckle of his own. “It really was a great concert, Ember. I told you, you were talented enough that you didn’t need to brainwash people to like your music.”

He didn’t notice the slight blush that appeared on her cheeks. “Th-Thanks, Baby-Pop. Anyway, I need to get going and head off to my next stop on the tour. By the way, where are you heading to next?”

He gave off a slight shrug. “Don’t know. This vacation was kind of spur of the moment and New York City was the only place I KNEW I wanted to visit.”

Ember perked up at hearing this. If Baby-Pop didn’t have anything planned out, she could use this to her advantage and get closer to Baby-Pop!

“Then why don’t you and Mini-Pop tagalong with me?”

“Huh?” questioned Danny, looking at her confused.

“You just said that you have no idea where you’re going to next, so why not come with me to where I’m going. I think you’ll both enjoy it.”

“…I guess we could do that. Any chance we can leave tomorrow morning though? Dani needs her sleep.”

“Sorry, Baby-Pop, but we’ll need to leave tonight. Don’t worry though; I’ve got us covered. Just follow me.”

He probably should have thought this over, but Danny followed anyway. Once they were far enough away with little people around, Ember snapped her fingers and Danny was surprised when a bus appeared out nowhere. It was painted in Ember’s signature colors.

“What the hell?”

“I’m a rock star, Baby-Pop. I’m going to have my own tour bus,” explained the rock diva. “This baby will get us to our next destination in no time.”

“…It can fly, can’t it?”

“You’re learning, Baby-Pop~”

He merely rolled his eyes, but followed Ember onboard. Once inside, he placed Dani on one of the couches and covered her with a blanket before handing her gorilla plushy. He smiled when she snuggled the plushy in her sleep. Danny then turned to Ember.

“So where are we heading to anyway.”

She just gave him a grin.

“That’s a secret, Baby-Pop~”

NEW YORK CITY END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And that’s a wrap for New York City. Where our trio is heading to next will be, as Ember said, a secret. So stick around for after the interlude to find out where they’ll go next.**
> 
> **Fun Fact: The name “Louie the Lip” actually comes from an old cartoon called Swamp and Tad. Go look it up on YouTube if you haven’t seen it before.**
> 
> **Anyway, as I mentioned in the Prologue notes, this was originally going to be a MHA fic. In that version, the Dekusquad, when ending up in New York City, would have met up with Melissa Shield and her father, who would have been in New York for a conference. The villain they would have fought while in New York would have actually been a hero-turned-traitor who went by the name Patriot. His Quirk would have been Fireworks (think Jubilee from X-Men) and he would have been the sidekick to a hero called Eagle Man (Quirk: Bald Eagle). Patriot would have revealed his true colors towards the end, as he was tired of being the sidekick of what he deemed an “inferior” hero, despite the fact that Eagle Man is one of the best heroes in America.**


	4. Amity Interlude 1

Back in Amity Park, Sam and Tucker were making their way over to Danny’s place.

“I’m surprised you were able to get out of whatever your parents had planned, Sam,” said Tucker, looking over at his Goth friend.

She just grinned. “Well when you have someone like Grandma Ida in your corner, you can never lose.”

The tech geek couldn’t help but laugh at that. It was agreed amongst them that Ida was the best.

The two made it to Fenton Works to find it, as always, surrounded by reporters. Luckily for them, the mayor waits for no crowds.

“Alright! Out of the way! Teen Mayor of Amity coming through!” declared Tucker as he and Sam made their way through the sea of reporters. Reaching the door, they knocked once before the door opened and they were dragged inside. Looking at who brought them in, they found it to be Jazz.

“Were you just waiting for us?” asked Sam with a raised eyebrow.

“I figured you’d stop by sooner or later,” replied the older girl with a shrug. “Better than waiting out there, right?”

“Definitely,” said Tucker.

It was then the Fentons parents came up from their lab.

“Hi, kids,” greeted Maddie, smiling at them.

“Hi, Mrs. Fenton,” said Sam and Tucker, returning the greeting.

“So what brings you kids here today?” asked Jack. “Ready to help take on the bad ghosts?!”

Sam merely rolled her eyes, but was amused nonetheless. “Sorry, Mr. Fenton, but we came to see if Danny wanted to hang out today. We originally thought we’d be busy, but our schedules luckily got cleared.”

Maddie frowned at that. “Didn’t Danny tell you?”

Tucker raised an eyebrow in question. “Tell us what?”

“Danny’s not here,” stated Jazz.

“…What? What do you mean he’s not here?” questioned Sam, not liking this.

“He’s on vacation. We talked him into going by himself to get away from the vultures for the summer,” explained the eldest Fenton sibling. “Did he really not call and tell you?”

“No,” growled out Sam, annoyed.

Jazz let out a sigh, also annoyed. “Typical Danny. Then again, he was probably so excited to get away from the vultures that it slipped his mind.”

“Can’t really blame him for that,” said Tucker, to which Sam reluctantly agreed. “Any idea where he might have gone to?”

“Danny-boy did say he’d keep in contact, but we haven’t heard from him since he left,” said Jack with a frown.

“He better contact us soon,” stated Maddie, crossing her arms. “I might have agreed to let him go on vacation on his own, but I’m still his mother and I worry.”

It was at that point that Tucker’s phone went off, signifying that he had a message. At first he thought it was from the office, but his eyes widened when he read it.

“It’s from Danny!”

Everyone gathered around to see what it said.

**Tuck, I’m sending you these photos so you can save them to a hard drive for me. This way, you, Sam, and my family get to see where I’ve been and I have room on my phone to take more photos.**

**P.S. Sorry for not telling you and Sam about this. It was kind of last minute.**

Sam rolled her eyes again before looking at the pictures her friend had sent; Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, Times Square, and the Statue of Liberty.

“I should have known Danny would go there first,” said Jazz. “I remember him mentioning before that he always wanted to go to New York.”

“I wonder where else he’ll be going,” wondered the Goth girl.

Before they could discuss possible places though, a certain annoyance decided to make his appearance.

“I am the Box Ghost! OOOOOOHHHHHHH!” wailed Boxy as he floated up from the floor and through the wall to the outside.

“The Crate Creep!” exclaimed Jazz.

Sam let out a sigh. “Jazz, I know he’s annoying and should most be ignored, but at least call him by his actual name.”

“Come on, Maddie! Let’s bag us a ghost and send him back to where he came from!” exclaimed Jack, grabbing a Fenton Bazooka and running outside, bowling over some of the vultures.

“Right behind you, dear!” replied Maddie, chasing after he husband.

The three teens stood there in silence before heading over to watch some TV. They figured since it was the Box Ghost, Maddie and Jack would be fine on their own.

INTERLUDE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **The interludes will probably vary in length since they’re supposed to be breaks between the city chapters.**


	5. Turning Japanese Act 1

It was a quiet night as the tour bus continued on its way to the next stop. Ember stood in the entryway of her room as she looked over at Mini-Pop, who was still asleep on the couch. She then looked over to the passenger seat where Baby-Pop had decided to get some sleep. Walking over, she sat in the driver’s seat (thank god for autopilot) and tried to wake him up.

“Baby-Pop? Baby-Pop, are you awake?”

“Hm?” he hummed out before he let out a yawn. “What’s wrong, Ember?”

“You going to tell me about Mini-Pop now?”

“…Yeah, yeah. Give me a few seconds to wake up,” replied Danny, letting out another yawn. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he then turned to the fiery girl next to him. “So what did you want to know?”

“Who is she and why does she look exactly like you?”

She watched as he scowled. For a moment, she thought he was scowling at her for asking the question and that pissed her off since he said he’d tell her. Before she could yell at him, he said a word that stopped her.

“Vlad.”

She blinked in confusion. “Vlad? What does he have to do with this?”

Danny exhaled slowly to try and calm himself. He then looked at Ember with a serious look.

“With what I’m about to tell you, I want you to promise me that you’ll stay calm and not go on a rampage.”

“Baby-Pop, you’re starting to scare me.”

“Just promise me,” said Danny with a slight demanding tone. When she nodded, he continued. “Alright. I’m just going to cut to the chase. Danielle is a clone of me created by Plasmius.”

“…What?”

“Plasmius was crazier than most people thought. He was obsessed with my mom and wanted to kill my dad to make her his wife. This obsession was soon directed to me and Plasmius wanted to make me his son.

“But since I kept refusing and stopping him, he took drastic measures. He got ahold of some of my DNA and tried to create the perfect son for himself. Most of the clones destabilized and Danielle was the only one who survived.

Unfortunately, Vlad didn’t care for her because she ended up a girl. He planned to melt her down into ectoplasm once he got a hold of my mid-morph DNA so he could create a true clone of me. Luckily, as you can see, Vlad failed and Dani never has to see him ever again.”

By the end of the explanation, Ember wanted to murder someone. More specifically, she wanted to murder a certain fruit loop that was currently trapped in outer space.

“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill him!” hissed out Ember, her hair flickering from blue to orange in a rage.

“Ember, calm down!”

“Calm down? Calm down?! I just found out that freak wanted to kill that little girl simply because she’s a girl and you wanted me to calm down?!” questioned a now red-eyed Ember as she glared at Danny.

“Yes I want you to calm down! Dani’s still sleeping!” stated Danny, pointing at the sleeping child. “Besides, how the hell do you plan on getting your hands on Vlad?”

“I’ll find a way!”

He let out a sigh. This girl. “Ember, do you know what I want you to do?”

“What?!”

“I want you to be there for Dani. It’s clear that you care about her, despite having just met her, and she likes you. The more people she has watching out for her, the better. Can you do that for her? For me?”

She was still angry, but it wasn’t as much as it was a few minutes ago. She looked over at the little one and couldn’t help but frown. Her core clenched at the thought of Mini-Pop having to suffer just because some old man didn’t get what he wanted.

“You can count on me, Baby-Pop.”

He gave her a grateful smile, to which she returned. “Thank you, Ember.”

“You’re welcome, Baby-Pop.”

-:-

The next morning, the three were sitting at the table, eating breakfast. Well, Danny and Ember were eating breakfast. Danielle had already inhaled hers (much to Danny and Ember’s protests) and was currently going through Danny’s phone.

“Danny, some of your photos are missing,” said Danielle, looking through the photos Danny took in New York. The pictures of him, her, and Ember in front of the landmarks were there, but the ones of just the landmarks were gone.

“That’s because I sent some to Tucker to put on a hard drive for me. The ones of us I’d rather keep with me,” explained Danny.

Danielle shrugs it off after a few second, while Ember tried to hide her smile and blush. The little one then turned to Ember.

“So where are we going today?”

“We should be there shortly, Mini-Pop. Just be patient.”

“I don’t think she knows what being patient means,” added Danny with a slight laugh.

The ghostling gave off a pout at being teased.

Soon enough they could feel the bus come to a stop. Looking out the window, Danny’s eyes widened at where they were.

“Are we seriously in Tokyo?!”

Ember grinned at Baby-Pop’s surprise. They cleaned up and headed off the bus where they took in the metropolis. Both modern and feudal architecture could be seen as people hustled about around them.

“Wasn’t expecting this, were you, Baby-Pop?” questioned Ember with a smirk.

“No I wasn’t,” replied Danny, still looking around. “I would have thought we’d stick to the United States for a bit.”

“That’d be boring, sticking to just one place. Doing this means we get to see more of the world and it’s culture!”

“That does make sense.”

“Hey, Danny?”

“Yes, Danielle?”

“Why is this vending machine selling girls’ underwear?”

The teens had to quickly herd the little one away before she became corrupted.

-:-

Sitting in their hotel room, the three ghosts were trying to figure out where to head to first.

“There’re so many places to visit here in Tokyo. There’s the Sensoji Temple, the Great Buddha of Kamakura, Tokyo Tower, the Rainbow Bridge, the Kokugikan Arena…”

“Which is where my concert will be, Baby-Pop,” stated Ember. “After I heard that they started holding music concerts there, I just had to book it!”

“So where will we go first?” asked Danielle, looking up at her current guardians.

“The Rainbow Bridge will definitely be for later at night. Other than that, we can go anywhere,” replied Danny. He then let out a laugh. “Oh man, Sam is going to kill me when she finds out about this.”

Ember could feel a bit of jealousy at the mention of the Goth. “And why would she do that, Baby-Pop?”

“Sam’s like this big time animé fan and she’s wanted to come to Japan for YEARS. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when I tell her I went to Tokyo before she could,” said Danny with a slight grin.

It was Ember’s turn to laugh. So the Goth is missing out, huh? What made it even better for the rock diva was that SHE was the one here with Baby-Pop and not the Goth. Oh how sweet it is!

“That still doesn’t answer the question of where we’re going!” declared Danielle, giving the two a pouty glare.

Danny gave her a blank look before turning to Ember. “Told you she doesn’t know the meaning of patience.”

Ember let out some giggles while Danielle pouted even more.

-:-

It was decided that their first stop would be the Sensoji Temple. As they stepped towards the large gate, Danielle was in awe.

“That lantern is huge!” she exclaimed, raising her arms in the air.

“This would be the Kaminarimon, also known as the Thunder Gate,” said Danny. “We technically have to pass through it to get to the temple.”

“What’s with the two watchdogs?” questioned Ember, pointing at the statues on each side of the gate.

“Those would be Fuujin and Raijin, the gods of wind and thunder. They act like guardians, so your not far off, Ember.”

“…How the hell do you know all of this, Baby-Pop?”

“…I think it was through osmosis from hanging around Sam a lot. Like I said, she’s a BIG animé fan.”

The three then stepped through the gate, but once they were on the other side they felt a chill, which was difficult considering they were ghosts.

“Baby-Pop?”

“You that too, huh? Whatever it is I can’t get a read on it,” stated Danny, glancing around and getting on guard.

“What should we do then, Danny?” asked Danielle, looking worried.

“…We continue on for now. Whoever is here will reveal themselves sooner or later, so stay on guard.”

The girls nodded and the three went further into the temple grounds. As they walked it felt like someone was watching them. Reaching the temple steps, blue mist escaped Danny’s mouth.

“Get down!” yelled out Danny, grabbing Ember and Danielle before diving into the steps, barely missing the attack towards them. Coming back out, Danny, now in his ghost form, glared down at the ghost who attacked them. The ghost, who glared right back, was dressed in tattered samurai garb.

“Interesting. You are quite skilled if you were able to dodge my blade, boy,” said the samurai ghost.

Danny powered up some ecto energy in his fists. “And you must be a coward for trying to attack us from behind!”

The samurai merely chuckled. “A coward, you say? Nonsense. I am just testing the strength of my blade and nothing more.”

“That still doesn’t mean you should attack someone from behind!” exclaimed Danny before charging forward.

He threw a punch, but the samurai easily dodged it. Danny went in for another punch, but had to go on defensive when the samurai started to attack relentlessly. Around them, people ran in terror seeing two spirits fight it out.

With Ember and Danielle, they floated out from the temple steps to see what was going on.

“We need to help Danny!” squeaked out Danielle. She was about to dive it, but Ember held her back.

“Hold it, Mini-Pop! This must be the ghost we all felt earlier and if he was able to cause that feeling, then he is someone you don’t want to mess with!” explained Ember as she tried to hold down the squirming ghostling.

“All the more reason we need to help Danny!”

Ember grit her teeth in frustration. She wanted to help Baby-Pop as well, but she was smarter than that. If something happened, someone would have to get Mini-Pop out of there. That’s what Baby-Pop would want.

“J-Just leave this to Baby-Pop. He’s beaten some of the strongest ghosts in the Ghost Zone, so this guy should be chump change.”

Danielle let out a slight growl, reminding Ember of a puppy.

With Danny, he had to start attacking from afar to avoid the samurai’s blade. Unfortunately, every ecto blast he shot would be dodged and the samurai would continue his assault and get closer. Eventually, Danny passed through the Kaminarimon, leaving the temple grounds. Once he was through…

“Where did he go?!” exclaimed Danny, looking for his opponent. One moment he was dodge a katana and the next the samurai just vanished in thin air.

“Baby-Pop!”

Danny looked up to see Ember and Danielle making their way over to him.

“Ember, did you see where he went?”

The rock diva shook her head. “No. It was as if he was never there!”

“This doesn’t make any sense. I can’t even detect him!”

The older halfa hesitantly walked through the Kaminarimon one more time, but quickly jumped back when something took a swipe at his neck.

The samurai glared down at Danny. “I am known as Tsujigiri and next time you won’t be so lucky, boy.”

And with that, Tsujigiri vanished.

“…Okay, we’ve learned two things in this encounter,” said Danny, trying to catch his breath.

“And what would that be, Baby-Pop?” questioned Ember, crossing her arms.

“We’ve learned his name and that he can’t pass the Kaminarimon,” replied the white-haired boy. “With that, we at least know he’s stuck here at the temple.”

“So what do we do now?” asked Danielle. “Go back in and stop him?”

Danny went into thought. “Seeing as how he can’t leave, we don’t have to worry about him hurting anyone. After what happened today, people might stay clear of the temple. So for now I think we should head on back and figure this out.”

As much as Ember hated to admit it, Baby-Pop was right. Hopefully they could figure this out soon.

-:-

Later that night, the trio had gone to the Rainbow Bridge where Danielle was enjoying seeing how it was lit up in its namesake. Ember glanced over at Danny, who was still deep in thought.

“What’s up, Baby-Pop? Still worried about that Tsujigiri guy?”

“In a way,” replied Danny, turning towards her. “Ember, it’s true that some ghosts tend to get stuck in certain locations because of regrets, right?”

“…Wait, are you suggesting that Tsujigiri can’t pass on because of some unfinished business?” questioned Ember, looking skeptical.

“It’s possible. I mean we all saw that he couldn’t bypass the gate, which means he must be tied to the temple grounds for some reason,” explained the boy. “I think tomorrow I’m going to try and do some research, maybe find out what we need to know. If he really is trapped here, maybe we can help him move on to the Ghost Zone.”

The rock diva was still skeptical. Something about Tsujigiri gave her a bad feeling, but Baby-Pop also made a good point.

She just hoped this event would end on a good note.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Ye old Tokyo is the second location of this vacation and our trio has had an unfortunate encounter with ye old samurai. Hopefully Danny can solve this mystery before Ember’s concert.**


	6. Turning Japanese Act 2

It was going to be a long day; Danny could just feel it. Every time he tried to search for answers about Tsujigiri he ran into a dead end. Right now, he and the girls were at the top of Tokyo Tower looking out over the city.

“Do you think Tokyo ever had to deal with a giant gorilla?” asked Danielle; unknowingly breaking the tension Danny was feeling.

Danny and Ember glanced at each other before looking back at the ghostling.

“Believe it or not, Danielle, but they did,” replied Danny, causing the little one’s eyes to widen. “You see, Japan has this genre of films called kaiju where giant monsters tend to attack Tokyo. Godzilla is the most well known of the kaiju and he even battled King Kong in one movie.”

“What other kinds of monsters attack Tokyo?”

“Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah are up there with Godzilla, but there are plenty others.”

“And these monsters aren’t real, right?”

Ember answered this one. “That’s right, Mini-Pop. Godzilla and the other kaiju are just like King Kong in that they’re all fake.”

“…That’s good, I guess.”

“…You wanted to meet them, didn’t you?” questioned Danny in a deadpan tone.

“No! …Yes,” replied Danielle, pouting.

Danny rubbed his temples, trying to halt the oncoming headache. Ember on the other hand was trying her hardest to laugh at his expense.

“I really need to teach you the difference between reality and fantasy, Danielle.”

“You have to admit though, it’d be pretty cool if these kaiju existed,” stated the little one with a smirk.

“I doubt it.”

When Danielle turned back to look at the city, Ember stepped up to Danny.

“You okay? You look stressed,” said the fiery-haired girl, worried.

He let out a sigh. “I’ve been trying to find out more about this Tsujigiri guy, but I can’t seem to find anything. I’m almost at the point where I’m just going to call up Sam for help. She knows Japanese WAY better than I do.”

Ember had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from speaking. She’d rather not involve the Goth in her time with Baby-Pop, but she also knew the situation was way more important than her feelings for the halfa next to her. If the Goth can speak Japanese…wait a minute.

“Baby-Pop, didn’t Tsujigiri speak English when we first encountered him?”

Danny blinked in confusion before his eyes widened in realization. “He did! But how?”

“It could be possible that he learned from English tourists, but that’s not what I was getting at. What if we can find a Japanese person who can speak English and ask them what we need to know? If a samurai ghost knows English, surely there’s a human around here who can too.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea, Ember,” stated Danny, making Ember smile happily. “The only downside is that it might take awhile to find them. Hopefully we’ll find someone before tonight, otherwise I’ll HAVE to call Sam…and have to listen to her chew my ear off for going to Japan without her.”

“Never mind her for now,” said Ember in a deadpan tone. “Right now we need to keep our ears open for an English speaker!”

His mouth twitched into a smile. Ember really knew how to make this vacation enjoyable.

-:-

“So this is Buddha, huh? I thought he was supposed to be fat, Baby-Pop?”

“If I remember correctly I think the fat one is the Chinese Buddha.”

“Hey look, someone left some oranges on the ground!”

Danny had to pull Danielle back before the little one could snatch a piece of fruit from the Great Buddha of Kamakura.

“Those are for the Buddha, Dani,” stated the older halfa, giving her an admonishing look. “People place flowers and oranges in front of the Buddha as a way to honor him.”

The ghostling looked confused at such practices, but Ember was giving Danny a blank look.

“Wait, is that why you bought that bag of oranges before we came here?”

Danny grinned at the rock diva as he pulled the bag of fruit from his pack. “I figured it would be for the best if we gave tribute. I don’t know if it’s exactly the same, but I see it like going to a cemetery and leaving something on one’s grave. It’s only right, isn’t it?”

It was silent as Ember stared at Danny, but a small smile soon appeared on her face. “Come on, let’s give the big guy his oranges.”

She grabbed his hand, intertwining her fingers with his, and led him over towards the bronze statue with Danielle following not far behind. As they placed the oranges before the Buddha, a voice spoke.

“It’s not often American tourists leave an offering for Buddha. It makes this old man happy to see such a sight.”

The trio turned to where the voice came from and their eyes widened to see an old Japanese monk smiling at them.

“You…You speak English?” asked Danny.

“That is correct,” replied the monk with a laugh. “Since the temple gets so many tourists thanks to Buddha, it was for the best that some of us monks learn to speak English as a way to explain the history to the tourists.”

“If you can speak English, maybe you can help us then,” said Ember, gaining the monk’s attention.

“Oh? What can this old man help you young ones with then?”

Danny rubbed the back of his head in nervousness. “Do you know anything about Tsujigiri?”

The monk’s eyes narrowed on the teens, making them flinch. “Why exactly do you wish to know about that?”

“It’s for a summer project for when I head back to school,” said Danny, lying through his teeth. “It came across in my research, but I’m unfortunately not that well adept in the Japanese language to understand what it means.”

“Ah, if that’s the case, tsujigiri was unfortunately a practice some samurai did where they would test out their new katana on defenseless commoners.”

“…What?” questioned Danny and Ember, hoping they misheard the monk.

“Hm, I’m afraid so. It usually happened at night where the samurai would attack random passers-by with no qualms of killing them. Those who practiced this were also referred to as tsujigiri. Luckily, such practices were outlawed in 1602 and anyone who still practice tsujigiri received capital punishment.”

Danny clenched his fist in anger. Tsujigiri wasn’t someone bound to the living world because of some regrets. He was a cold-blooded murder and needed to be stopped before he started to kill again.

“…Thank you for the information, sir,” said Danny, trying his damnedest to stay calm.

“You’re quite welcome, young man,” replied the monk, smiling once more. “If there’s anything else you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Saying his goodbyes, the monk left to speak with some of the other tourists. With the monk gone, Ember and Danielle looked at Danny in worry.

“Baby-Pop? What are you going to do now that we know the truth?”

“I’m going to stop Tsujigiri,” replied, turning and walking away.

Ember’s eyes widened in fear. “What?! You’re going to fight him now?!”

“No, not right now. If I’m going to fight him, I’m going to need to fight him at his own game. It’ll take some time for me to prepare though, so can you watch over Dani for awhile for me? I’ll send you a message when the time comes to confront Tsujigiri,” explained the halfa, turning a bit to look her in the eye.

She could see the conviction and determination in his eyes as they glowed a bright ecto green. Giving him the same look, she nodded in agreement.

“Just don’t die, Baby-Pop! I’d rather not see you become a permanent resident of the Ghost Zone!”

He flashed her a grin. “I don’t plan on it, Ember.”

The rock diva and the ghostling were then on their own as they watched Danny takeoff. Danielle looked up at Ember with a frown.

“Shouldn’t we have gone with him?”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Baby-Pop in the years I’ve known him it’s that he can do the impossible. He’s the one who defeated the Ghost King, after all.”

“Who’s the Ghost King?”

“You’re in for a story, Mini-Pop,” replied Ember as she led her current ward out of the temple grounds.

-:-

Despite being confident in in Baby-Pop’s abilities, there was still that inkling of worry in Ember’s core. She just couldn’t help it. She wasn’t sure why, considering Baby-Pop has fought the likes of Pariah Dark, Undergrowth, and Vortex. Tsujigiri was nowhere near their level and yet she was afraid. Maybe it was because unlike the aforementioned ghosts, Tsujigiri was HUMAN at one point, a human that actually ENJOYED killing.

She shook those thoughts away. She was supposed to be keeping her mind off such thoughts, which is why they came to this location in the first place. She and Danielle were currently doing her favorite pastime outside of music.

Shopping!

“Ember, why are we here?” asked Danielle with a whine.

Purple lips twitched into a smirk as she looked through the racks of clothes. “Because from what I’ve heard, the Wako Department Store is one of the best places to shop in Tokyo.”

“But I don’t like shopping!”

“Have you ever actually been shopping?”

“Well, no, but I’ve heard the horror stories!”

“From men or from women?”

“…Men, but what difference does that make?”

“It’s a big difference, trust me,” replied Ember in a deadpan tone, taking a blouse off the rack. “The only reason men find shopping scary is because their wives or girlfriends would make them carry their bags.”

“Does that mean you’d make Danny carry your bags if he was here?” asked Danielle, innocently.

Ember could feel her face heat up at the implication. “N-No, I wouldn’t make B-Baby-Pop carry my bags!”

Then again, as she thought about it, Baby-Pop would probably do a better job at it than a certain lousy hunter. What the hell was going through her mind back then when she agreed to date that dipstick? Was she so desperate for a relationship that she’d date a guy who was obsessed with hunting and himself?

Shaking away the depressing thoughts, she focused back on finding something worth buying. It was then her phone went off. Taking it out of her pocket, her eyes widened when she read the message.

“Baby-Pop’s ready!”

She grabbed hold of Danielle and led her out of Wako. They had to get to the temple ASAP!

-:-

Ember and Danielle stood in front of the Kaminarimon, waiting for Danny to arrive. They didn’t dare pass through the gate in fear that Tsujigiri would attack them. It didn’t take long for Danny to arrive, but seeing what he was wearing made Ember hesitate.

“Baby-Pop…what the hell are you wearing?”

“I did say I was going to beat Tsujigiri at his own game and what better way than dress the part.”

That’s right. Danny was dressed in a black samurai outfit instead of his usual hazmat suit. This was going to help beat Tsujigiri?

“Don’t you need a sword to be a samurai, Danny?” asked Danielle, looking confused.

Danny merely ruffled her hair before stepping through the gate, the girls following after him. Once through, Tsujigiri appeared before them.

“…What are you planning, boy?” demanded Tsujigiri, seeing Danny’s state of dress.

“I’m challenging you to a duel, Tsujigiri!” declared Danny, narrowing his gaze onto the murderer.

The samurai laughed. “With what weapon, boy? You are clearly unarmed!”

Danny smirked before raising his hand, which was then engulfed in an icy aura. He then formed a katana with his ice, causing the girls’ eyes to widen and Tsujigiri’s to narrow.

“You were saying?” asked Danny, giving off a grin. He then glared at his opponent. “I’m here to stop you. I know what you’ve done to innocent people when you were alive.”

It was silent before a murderous grin appeared on Tsujigiri’s face. “So you think you can stop my fun, boy? Once I figure out how to escape this temple, the people of this strange village will feed my blade!”

Danny grit his teeth in anger. “Ember, Danielle, get somewhere safe.”

Doing as they were told, the girls floated up and sat on top of the gate. They watched as Danny got into a stance, ready to strike.

Tsujigiri narrowed his eyes on Danny once more. He did not expect much from this boy. “You know how to wield a blade?”

“I’ve had a lot of practice and unlike you I didn’t need to kill anyone to get where I am!”

No more words were exchanged at this point. The samurai ghost charged forward, ready to cut Danny down, but Danny easily moved his own blade to incept. Tsujigiri’s eyes widened in shock, as he was not expecting this from a child.

“What…”

With all his strength, Danny pushed forward, taking Tsujigiri off balance. Now it was Danny’s turn to go on offense. He swung his ice katana with precision, but Tsujigiri was able to block the attacks with his own katana, albeit barely.

“Seems like you’re slowing down, Tsujigiri. Out of practice?” taunted Danny with a smirk.

It was Tsujigiri’s turn to grit his teeth in anger. “Silence, brat! You will watch your tongue in front of your better!”

“Most of the people I know who ARE better than me aren’t here at the moment, so that might be difficult!”

With a roar of frustration, Tsujigiri swung wildly. Danny was starting to wonder if he bit off more than he could chew. He needed to get far enough away from Tsujigiri and regroup. He jumped back a bit, but this was a mistake.

“Die, brat!” yelled Tsujigiri as he thrust his katana forward, piercing Danny through the chest. “You’ve lost!”

But he was surprised when Danny grinned. “You’d think that.”

Tsujigiri was surprised even further when a second Danny appeared right next to the first with his ice katana raised in the air. “What?!”

“Ice Slash!” exclaimed Danny as he brought his blade down, cutting Tsujigiri across the chest and freezing him. Before the samurai ghost could even try to escape, Danny quickly pulled out the Fenton Thermos and sucked him up.

The duel was over.

With a sigh of relief, and releasing the clone he made, Danny turned around to find Ember and Danielle standing before him, with the rock diva looking unamused.

“Did you seriously just call out your attack?”

“…I kind of got caught up in the moment,” replied Danny, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Fair enough,” she said. “By the way, Baby-Pop…”

“Hm? What is it, Ember?” he asked. He then received a slap to the face, much to his shock. “Ow! Wh-What was that for?!”

“Do you have any idea how I felt when I thought you got skewered?!” she yelled, glaring at the boy. “I thought you actually died!”

“But I told you that wasn’t going to happen!”

“That doesn’t matter!”

Danielle watched from the sidelines as Ember and Danny argued. Admittedly, she was scared as well, thinking Danny was killed. She was going to speak up, but a bright flash of light got their attention.

Standing before them was Walker with a doorway to his prison right behind him.

“Walker. How’d you know I had caught someone?” questioned Danny, getting on guard.

“Simple, punk. Clockwork set up a system that would alert me the moment you apprehended a criminal and temporary portal would open at your location,” explained Walker. He then narrowed his eyes. “Now where is my new prisoner?”

Danny walked forward, holding up the thermos. Pointing it at the portal, he reversed the thermos and shot out Tsujigiri into the prison cell.

“Gah!” cried out Tsujigiri as he crashed into the wall. He jumped when the cell door slammed shut. “What?! No!”

Walker smirked as he watched Tsujigiri shake the bars, demanding he be let out. He was going to have fun breaking this one.

“Not bad, punk.”

“Thanks…I guess.”

Walker then reentered the portal, which closed the moment he did. Danny let out a sigh before turning back to Ember, who still looked upset.

“Look, Ember, I’m sorry about scaring you like that. I should have told you my plan in full so you wouldn’t worry,” said Danny, avoiding eye contact. He couldn’t stand seeing that look in her eyes. It felt different from the usual glares she would give him and it just felt wrong.

“…You better be sorry. Now let’s head back to the hotel. My concert is tomorrow and I want you well-rested for it.”

She grabbed his hand and started dragging him away. Danielle watched on, wondering why Ember forgave Danny just like that after he nearly gave her a core attack.

Grown-ups were weird.

She quickly ran after them before they got too far ahead. She’ll figure this out later.

-:-

Kokugikan Arena was alive with the sounds of cheering as Ember rocked the stage for her Japanese fans. Once more the Phantom duo stood back stage to watch, although Danny had to keep the little one from inadvertently insulting the sumo wrestlers or the “fat guys in diapers” as Danielle put it.

The concert soon came to an end just as the sun was about to set. Ember walked over to the Phantom duo with a smirk.

“Another successful concert! If this keeps up this World Tour will become a success!” exclaimed the rock diva.

“You have a lot of fans that love you, Ember, so of course it will be a success. There’s no arguing that,” stated Danny, giving her a smile.

Her smirk grew into a grin. “Thanks, Baby-Pop! That really means a lot.”

“Danny! Ember! Can we go to the after party now?” asked Danielle, a look of anticipation in her eyes.

The teens each raised an eyebrow in question, as Ember was the one to speak. “After party?”

The little one nodded in excitement. “Yeah! I heard someone say something about a festival happening tonight and I want to go see it!”

Danny and Ember glanced at each other. They supposed it couldn’t hurt to go a festival and relax after previous events.

“I don’t see why not,” replied Danny. “But we’ll have to get the proper outfits. From what I know, girls need to wear kimonos and guys need to wear a yukata at festivals.”

“Then let’s go!” demanded Danielle as she grabbed her guardians’ hands and started dragging them out of the arena. They were surprised by how strong she was.

Some time later the festival was in full swing and the three ghosts were dressed for the occasion. Danny was dressed in a white yukata with a red trim, Danielle was dressed in a blue kimono with a red obi, and Ember was dressed in a purple kimono with a light blue obi and had her hair out of her usual ponytail.

“Has anyone ever told you that you look really good with your hair down like that, Ember?” asked Danny when he first saw her.

Ember had blushed brightly at the compliment.

Right now, the three were enjoying what the festival had to offer. Danny and Ember watched as Danielle played the many games, finding it adorable when she pouted because she couldn’t win. Eventually she was able to win one game, with the prize being a tanuki plushy that was dressed in a red yukata.

While the three continued to party, Danny could only wonder what was in store for them next.

TOKYO END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Tokyo ends on a happy ending. Danny’s lucky his plan work or else Ember would probably find some way to drag him back from the afterlife and give him hell.**
> 
> **Fun Fact: Tsujigiri, also know as Crossroads Killing, is the basis for the Pokémon move Night Slash.**
> 
> **Onto part two of the MHA version of this fic. After their adventure in New York, the Dekusquad would be sent back to Tokyo where they would meet up with a henchman of the main villain by the name of Yokai. His Quirk, also called Yokai, would allow him to bring various objects (like umbrellas and lanterns) to life. The final fight with Yokai would be at the Kaminarimon, where the villain would bring the giant lantern to life and have it attack the Dekusquad. After Yokai is defeated, another teleportation portal opens up. Despite being back home in Japan, the Dekusquad decides to go through the portal to try and stop the main villain, who they learn calls himself The Collector.**


	7. Amity Interlude 2

Sam was bored, despite summer having just started and there were plenty of things to do.

“Don’t tell me you’re still upset that Danny left without telling us.”

The Goth looked over at her tech geek friend. The two of them were hanging out over Danny’s place, despite him not being there. At least it was better than staying at home with her parents.

“A little, Tucker. We could have at least gone with him!”

“No offense, Sam, but there would be no way you’d enjoy it since your folks would find someway to ruin it.”

She grimaced at that since she knew Tucker was right. Even after Danny save the world from the Disasteroid, her parents still hated him.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Sam. Danny will be back before you know it and he’ll tell us all about the experiences he went through,” said Jazz with a smile.

“Still doesn’t change the fact that I’d rather be anywhere but at home this summer,” replied the gloomy girl, causing Jazz to giggle.

“Eh, it’s not all that bad,” said Tucker. “We still have ghost hunting to keep us busy.”

“Too bad it’s been mostly Box Ghost who keeps coming around,” muttered out Sam.

It was then that a familiar ghost made their appearance, coming up from the floor. And it wasn’t the Box Ghost this time. The green-haired biker chick was smiling, not even noticing the three blank-faced humans, as she then made her way up the stairs. The teens glanced at each other before looking back at the stairs where a now frowning Kitty was coming back down. That was when she noticed the humans.

“Where’s Danny?”

Jazz glared at the ghost girl. “Why do you want to know where Danny is?”

Kitty glared right back. “I want to talk to him.”

“About what?”

“What does it matter to you?”

“Because he’s my little brother!”

Kitty let out a huff. “If you really need to know, Danny said that whenever Johnny does anything stupid that I can come by and talk to him to get anything off my chest. Well, Johnny did something stupid, so here I am!”

Jazz wasn’t sure what was worse; the fact that Danny was apparently friendly with the ghost that tried to possess her or the fact that Danny was playing therapist.

“Danny’s on vacation,” said Tucker, earning glares from Jazz and Sam.

The biker chick let out a groan. “Just great. That’s the second of my friends who isn’t in town at the moment.”

“Second?” questioned the tech geek.

“Ember left awhile ago to put on some concerts in different cities. So now I don’t have anyone to talk to!”

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other. Ember wasn’t around? Sam discreetly took out her phone and sent a warning to Danny.

The front door then opened and the loud voice of Jack could be heard.

“Back, you vultures! Don’t make me use the Fenton Bazooka!”

The Fenton parents entered the kitchen, carrying bags of groceries. Maddie raised an eyebrow when she noticed the ghost girl standing with the kids.

“Hello? And who might you be?” asked the matriarch. Ever since finding out her son’s secret she and Jack became a little less gun happy when it came to ghosts. Although there were times where it would be a force of habit for Jack, which is why she placed a hand on his arm when she notice him going for his bazooka.

“Hi, my name’s Kitty!”

“She’s one of Danny’s friends, Mrs. Fenton,” added Tucker, earning another glare from Jazz and Sam.

Maddie smiled at this. “Oh, it’s nice to meet more of Danny’s friends. Unfortunately he’s not here at the moment.”

“Yeah, they told me as such,” replied Kitty with a sigh. “Which sucks because I needed to vent!”

“About what, dear?” asked Maddie as she helped Jack put the groceries away.

Kitty gave off a pout. “My boyfriend did something stupid…again. Danny said I could always come to him to vent when that happens.”

“And what exactly did your boyfriend do?”

“Mom, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Jazz, be nice. Kitty is a guest after all.”

The eldest Fenton child was wondering if she stepped into the Twilight Zone or something.

At Maddie’s previous question, Kitty scowled. “He keeps looking at and flirting with other women! Sometimes in front on me no less!”

“Well that’s not right,” replied Maddie with a frown. “I just met you, but I can tell that you’re a very nice girl, Kitty, and any boy would be lucky to have you.

The biker chick beamed in happiness at the compliment. “Now I see where Danny gets it from.”

Now it was Maddie’s turn to smile, happy she and her son shared something. She loved her husband, and always will, but there were times she was worried that Danny would take after Jack completely.

The sound of Tucker’s phone going off caught everyone’s attention. He took it out and grinned. “Looks like we got another message from Danny.”

**Here’s the next set of photos for the hard drive, Tuck. If you can, try to keep Sam from seeing them until I get home.**

Sam frowned as she read Danny’s message. “Why doesn’t he want me to see the photos he sent?”

She soon got her answer when Tucker opened the file. Photos of Sensoji Temple, the Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo Tower, the Great Buddha of Kamakura, Wako, and Kokugikan Arena greeted them. Sam could feel her eye twitch in both anger and annoyance.

“Sam, calm down,” said Tucker, trying to stop a possible rampage.

“What’s with her?” asked Kitty, confused as to why the girl was upset by a set of photos.

“Let me put it this way, Kitty. Much like how I’m a geek when it comes to tech, Sam’s a geek when it comes to anything Japanese.”

“Shut up, Tucker!” exclaimed Sam, giving him a glare. She then glared at the photos. “Danny KNOWS how much I’ve wanted to go to Japan and he does this?!”

“Now, Sam, I’m sure Danny isn’t doing this to hurt you,” stated Maddie. “You two have been friends for so long that you’re practically part of the family. The same goes to you Tucker.”

The Goth girl let out a groan. “I know that, but it still sucks that he got to live my dream!”

Oh, Danny was going to get when he got back.

INTERLUDE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Sam’s on the rampage and Kitty joins the cast. Some might think Maddie was out of character here, but I feel she’d start acting like this after Danny’s secret got revealed.**


	8. The Paris Match Act 1

The ghostly tour bus of one Ember McLain was on its way to the next city. Inside, the passengers were sitting on the couch watching a movie to pass the time, with the little one sitting between the two teens.

Danny’s phone then vibrated, telling him that he got a message. Looking at it, he gave off a snort of amusement.

“What’s so funny, Baby-Pop?”

He showed the fiery-haired girl the message. “Apparently Kitty mentioned that you weren’t in Amity and my friends want me to keep an eye open for you.”

Ember rolled her eyes, but couldn’t keep the smirk off her face. “Oh yeah? And what do you plan to do when you see me?”

“Continue to travel the world with you, see the sights, enjoy your concerts. You know, the things that made this vacation way better than it would have been if it was just me.”

The ghost girl could feel a flutter in her core as her smirk turned into a grin. Baby-Pop really knew what to say to make a girl feel loved. She had a feeling that he wasn’t flirting and just speaking his mind, but she was okay with that. It just meant he was being honest with her instead of trying to butter her up.

“Hey, what about me?” questioned Danielle, tiny hands reaching up to grab Danny’s face and in turn his attention.

“What about you?” questioned Danny with a teasing smirk.

The ghostling pouted. “Do you like me being on this vacation too?”

“Of course, Danielle,” replied Danny, ruffling her hair. “You’re family, remember?”

She gave off a beaming smile before turning back to watch the movie, happy that Danny wanted her there.

While Danielle focused on the movie and Danny decided to send Tucker the photos he took in Tokyo, Ember kept glancing at Danny.

 _‘He’d make a great dad one day,’_ thought the rock diva. She desperately fought off the blush she gained from that thought. _‘Easy, girl. We haven’t even got passed the “friends stage” yet.’_

So into her thoughts, Ember didn’t hear Danny calling her name.

“Ember!”

“Yes!” answered the rock diva, jumping in shock.

“I was just asking if you could give us any hints as to where we’re going next.”

“Huh? Oh! Um, well I guess you can say we’re going to a city of light.”

-:-

Danny stood on the balcony of their hotel room, looking for the Parisian skyline. He felt someone walk up next to him, but he didn’t need to turn to know whom it was.

“Enjoying the view, Baby-Pop?”

“I am, actually. Going back to what I said before when we were in the tour bus, I’m glad I’m traveling with you, Ember. I don’t think I would have gone to Paris if I was on my own,” replied the halfa, giving her a smile.

That flutter returned. “I’m glad to be traveling with you too, Baby-Pop.”

Of course their small moment was broken when they were reminded that they weren’t alone.

“Hey, Danny! These beds are REALLY bouncy!”

The older halfa facepalmed before going back inside the room with Ember following after him. The two teens found the little one jumping on one of the two beds. That was the only downside, that they could only get a room with two beds. Danny didn’t mind though, that he had to sleep on the couch if it meant the girls could get a decent night’s sleep.

“Danielle! Stop jumping on the bed! You might fall and hurt yourself!”

“How would you know?” challenged the ghostling.

Danny grimaced as an old memory came back. “Because it happened to me once, so stop jumping!”

Danielle pouted, but complied with Danny’s wishes.

“…You really fell off the bed once as a kid?” asked Ember, giving Danny a teasing smirk.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Ember just rolled her eyes. She’ll tease him later. Right now it was time to head out to their first landmark to see. She knew they would want to go see the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, and the Jardins du Trocadéro, but there was one place she wanted to visit first.

“Baby-Pop? I have an idea of where we can go first.”

“Oh yeah? Then lead the way, Ember.”

-:-

The Phantom duo stared up at the architecture in wonder, although for different reasons. Danielle had never seen a building like this before, while Danny was trying to figure out why Ember would want to go to a church of all places.

The three entered the Cathedral of Notre Dame and took in the interior. Danny turned to Ember to ask her something, but found her making the Sign of the Cross, much to his surprise. She turned to find him staring at her with wide eyes.

“What?!” snapped the rock diva, giving him a glare.

“I never took you as the religious type, Ember.”

A slight blush came to her cheeks as she glanced away from the boy. “It’s…It’s something from when I was alive.”

“…You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Kitty once told me that a ghost’s time from when they were alive is very personal to them.”

“No, it’s okay,” she replied with a sigh. “I actually came from an Irish Catholic family when I was alive, so some of the teachings stuck around in death. To be honest, I HATED it. My parents were WAY into the religion and didn’t like that I liked the “Devil’s music” as they called it.”

“But…but your dream is to be a famous rock star.”

“They didn’t care. All they wanted me to do was be a good Catholic girl, which meant to marry and have a family. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to have a family of my own one day, but I don’t want to be JUST a housewife that constantly pops out one kid after another.”

Danny grimaced at the mental image. “Yeah, I can see why that would be terrible. I can’t even imagine forcing a girl into that sort of life. I know whoever becomes my wife in the future, I’d treat them as my equal and support whatever dream they wanted to follow.”

“She’d be a lucky girl to have you, Baby-Pop,” said Ember, hoping that one day SHE would be that girl.

Danny let out an embarrassed laugh as he gained a slight blush. He then felt a tug on his shirt.

“Danny, what is this place exactly?” asked Danielle.

“It’s a church, Dani. People come to places like this to worship God.”

“Who’s that?”

“…I’ll explain that later. In the meantime, have you seen the giant bells?” asked Danny, pointing up.

Looking up to where he was pointing, Danielle’s eyes widened at the size of the bells. “How strong do you have to be to ring those?!”

“Very strong. In fact, they have a hunchback named Quasimodo who lives here ring the bells,” stated Ember, unable to help herself and tease the little one.

“Quasi-what-o?”

Danny gave the smirking Ember a blank look before letting out a sigh. “Don’t listen to her, Dani. Much like King Kong and Godzilla, Quasimodo isn’t real.”

“Why are all these cool sounding people not real?!” demanded the ghostling with a pout.

He ruffled her hair as a way to calm her before turning back to Ember. “You’ve read Victor Hugo’s novel?”

She gave off a shrug. “Had to when I was in high school. It was actually pretty good. Anyway, let’s get out of here. The memories are starting to get to me.”

“Sure thing, Ember.”

-:-

The trio was walking down the sidewalk, making their way towards the Louvre. On the way though, Danielle tugged on Danny’s shirt to get his attention.

“What is it, Danielle?” he asked turning to her in concern. He watched as she pointed to a nearby building, which turned out to be a gift shop. What she was really pointing at though, was a plushy frog wearing a beret and scarf in the window. “You want the frog, don’t you?”

“Yes, please!”

“Alright then,” replied the older halfa with a laugh.

The little one beamed happily before rushing on ahead to grab the frog.

“You’re spoiling her, Baby-Pop~”

“Can you blame me for wanting her to be happy? Besides, if all she wants on this trip are plushies, then I’m fine with that. It’ll be like a memory of each place she’s visited.”

After heading inside and paying for Danielle’s gift, the three continued on to the Louvre, passing a passing a pastry shop in the process. Inside said pastry shop though…

“Sacré bleu! Is zis really what has become of French pastries?! Zeese are awful! Back when I, Chef Pierre Gras, was alive my bakery was ze best in all of France!”

Floating in the middle of the bakery was a really fat chef ghost with a long, thin, curly mustache, glaring at all of the wasted pastries that he had destroyed. He was currently the only one in the bakery as he had scared everyone away.

“Zere must be a way to bring back ze dignity of my craft, but I will need some assistance,” stated Pierre. He then noticed two teens and a child walk by the shop, his eyes landing on the teenaged girl. A malicious grin appeared on his face. “She will do.”

-:-

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to an art museum before,” said Danielle, holding her new frog plushy close.

“Then you’re lucky that your first one is the Louvre, Danielle. This is where the _Mona Lisa_ can be seen,” explained Danny.

“What’s the _Mona Lisa_?”

“It’s pretty much the most famous painting in the world, Mini-Pop, and it was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.”

“Who, if we’re lucky, we might actually get to meet,” stated the older halfa. “He did spend the last few years of his life in France, so it’s possible his ghost could still be around.”

“I doubt a big name like Leo would want to stick around here instead of wanting to hang out with other ghosts of famous people, Baby-Pop.”

“You never know.”

They entered the museum, unknowingly being followed by a fat chef ghost that stayed far enough away so they wouldn’t detect him. Danny and the girls traveled through the large museum, going from department to department to see the various pieces. From the Egyptian Antiquities to Decorative Arts, there was so much to see. Eventually they made it to the star of the museum.

“Whoa, she actually looks really pretty!” squeaked out Danielle as she looked at the _Mona Lisa_.

“That’s one of the reasons this painting is so famous,” explained Danny. “There was just something about Leonardo’s abilities as an artist that he could just bring out the best from his subjects.”

“Which led to him being considered the greatest painter of all time,” added Ember. She then turned to Danny. “Wasn’t he into other stuff too?”

He nodded his head. “Yeah, he was an inventor, architect, musician, scientist, engineer, and writer. In fact, he’s considered as the father of paleontology, ichnology, and architecture.”

“So he was a musician, huh?” wondered Ember, causing Danny to roll his eyes. Of course that would be what she’d focus on. “I’m joking, Baby-Pop. I think it’s impressive that Leo was able to do all of that.”

Closing time soon came and the three made their way back to the hotel for the night, ready to go see more sights the next day.

-:-

Later that night, Pierre was back at the bakery preparing for tomorrow.

“I should have grabbed her when I had ze chance,” muttered the chef to himself. “That boy with her zough, zere is somezing about him zat tells me he will be trouble. I will need to be carful when I snatch the girl.”

Thinking of what was to come, Pierre started to laugh as he continued to prepare his recipes. Soon, very soon, people will know his craft once again.

“Vive le France!”

TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **If you’re going to travel the world, Paris is definitely a place you need to go. But what could this new enemy want with Ember?**


	9. The Paris Match Act 2

Ember was up bright and early. This was so she could get in some practice on her guitar. Strumming a soft melody, she glanced over to the still sleeping Danny and her purple lips twitched into a smile. She thought back to when her feelings for Baby-Pop first began, when he defeated Pariah Dark.

Of course since they were still enemies at the time, especially since Baby-Pop had foiled her plans of brainwashing all of the adults the night before Pariah was released, it would have been weird to go up to Baby-Pop and ask him out. Hell, she was confused over her feelings because they were enemies at the time. It was probably because of this that she dated Skulker, to forget those feelings.

Those feelings grew around Christmas time that year, when Baby-Pop became a victim of the Ghost Writer all because Baby-Pop was upset that his parents would fight over Santa’s existence of all things. Still confused over her feelings, she didn’t know why at the time she just wanted to hold him and give him a Christmas he deserved.

Her feelings for the halfa were cemented when he saved both the human world and the Ghost Zone from the Disasteroid. He risked everything after Plasmius screwed up. He even went as far as revealing his secret to the entire world, risking his life if his parents didn’t accept him. After everyone was saved, the Ghost Zone threw a party in celebration, calling a truce against Baby-Pop for the week. It was during that time she got to know him a bit better and couldn’t help but truly fall in love with him.

She was broken out of her thoughts when she heard Baby-Pop rouse from his sleep.

“Morning, Baby-Pop,” greeted the fiery girl with a grin as Danny rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

“Morning, Ember,” replied Danny before letting out a yawn. “You’re up early.”

She gave off a shrug. “Eh, figured I’d get some practice before my concert tonight.”

“Where are you holding it this time?” asked the boy as he stretched his muscles.

“Now if I told you that it would ruin the surprise, Baby-Pop~”

He let out a chuckle before standing up. “Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

“No. I figured we all go out to eat together.”

“Sounds like a plan. Now we just need to wake up Danielle and we can go.”

-:-

After waking up Danielle, mainly with the promise of food, the three headed out to a nearby café. When they got their orders, Danielle stared at her plate with a blank look. Everyone’s breakfast consisted of croissants, toast, some fruit, and coffee for the teens and milk for the little one.

“Eat your breakfast, Mini-Pop,” said Ember as she spread some jam on her toast.

“This isn’t breakfast. This is bird food,” replied the ghostling, giving her food a pouty glare.

“This is what the French eat for breakfast, Danielle,” stated Danny, taking a sip of his coffee. “And the reason there’s so little is because unlike in America, France sees lunch as the most important meal of the day.”

Danielle let out a groan before she started eating. If she was lucky she’ll be able to get some real food later.

After finishing their meal and paying for it, they set out to their next destination, which happened to be the Arc de Triomphe.

“Now, Danielle, when we get there you need to be on your best behavior.”

“Why? We’re just going to a giant arch…aren’t we?”

“Yes and no. Underneath the arch is the Tomb of the Unknown Solider with an eternal flame that burns in his memory,” explained Danny.

“It’s considered sacrilege to disrespect someone’s burial space, Mini-Pop. This is something ALL ghosts follow and those who don’t are punished,” added Ember, a serious look on her face.

Danielle gulped nervously. She grabbed hold of Danny’s shirt, hoping that it would keep her safe. He patted her on the head as if to reassure her that nothing would happen.

As the three went near the arc, a certain chef ghost had been watching them, scowling.

“Darn it! As long as zey are at ze Arch I cannot make my move!” growled out Pierre. “Zey better not be here all day!”

Much to Pierre’s chagrin, the three stayed at the Arch for a few hours, looking at all of the sculptures and details of the outside and going inside to see the monument and the exhibition. So out of it from waiting, Pierre almost missed his target leaving the Arch. He quickly followed after them in hopes to find the perfect opportunity.

-:-

The sound of running water filled the air as Danny and the girls arrived at the Jardins du Trocadéro.

“Look at all the fountains! Hey, Danny! Do you have any coins? I heard tossing a coin in a fountain can make wishes come true!” exclaimed Danielle, looking up at her guardian.

“Sorry, Danielle, but you can’t throw coins in this fountain. Besides, there’s better ways to have wishes come true.”

Ember let out an unladylike snort as a certain genie ghost came to mind.

Danielle was a little disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to make a wish. Looking back towards the fountains, her eyes caught sight of a certain tower not far from where they were. “What’s that, Danny?”

“That would be the Eiffel Tower, which is where we’ll be going next. It was built by Gustave Eiffel, who surprisingly also had a hand in building the Statue of Liberty,” explained Danny.

“Huh. I knew Lady Liberty was given to us by the French, but I didn’t know Eiffel had a hand in it,” said Ember. She then gave off a grin. “You’re just a walking encyclopedia, aren’t you, Baby-Pop.”

“Hey, I didn’t use to get bad grades because I’m stupid. Most of my time was spent on protecting Amity from the bad ghosts, so I never really had time to focus on school.”

“Oh…sorry about all of that, Baby-Pop.”

“It’s okay, Ember. That’s all in the past now.”

“Wait, you two use to be enemies?” asked Danielle, looking confused.

“It’s…complicated, Mini-Pop. Let’s just say I was angry at the world and Baby-Pop would try to stop me from doing something stupid.”

Danny raised an eyebrow at that. Angry at the world? What happened to Ember that would make her do the things that she did?

Unfortunately any other questions Danny might have had would have to wait as his ghost sense went off. He and Danielle were then suddenly pushed into the fountain.

“What the hell?!” exclaimed Ember. She turned around and came face-to-face with a really fat ghost dressed as a chef. She glared angrily at him. “What’s your problem, fatso?!”

“Zere is no problem, mademoiselle, but you will be coming with moi!”

“Like hell I will!”

Before Ember could summon her guitar, the fat chef used his own ghostly powers to create a large doughnut, which was then used to bind her.

“Magnifique!”

“Hey! Let me go, damn it!” growled out Ember as she struggled. The fat chef then grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder, taking off from the area. “I said let go! Baby-Pop!”

From the water, the Phantom duo emerged. Unfortunately they had to watch Ember be taken away.

“Ember!” called out Danny as he got out of the water as fast as he could. By time he reached dry land, Ember was gone.

“Danny! We need to go find her!”

“I know that, Danielle!” snapped Danny, causing the little one to flinch. He was pissed that his friend was taken right from under his nose.

“…I was just saying,” replied Danielle, looking at the ground in shame.

Danny let out a sigh before turning to his little clone. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he got her to look up at him.

“I’m sorry for snapping like that Danielle. I’m NOT mad at you. I’m mad at myself for not sensing that ghost in time. I’ll make it up to you later, but right now I need your help to find Ember, okay?”

A look of determination entered Danielle’s eyes as she gave him a nod. The two transformed into their ghost halves and took off to the sky to find their culprit.

-:-

Ember let out a growl as she struggled against her bindings. This fatso had brought her to some abandoned bakery and then tied her to a chair using ecto doughnuts to bind her arms and legs.

“You better hope I don’t get out of here, fatso!” declared Ember as she glared at the chef.

“Quiet, mademoiselle. I am Chef Pierre Gras and I have brought you here to help moi.”

“Why the hell would I want to help you when you kidnapped me?!” hissed out the rock diva, her eyes becoming red. “And what the hell would you need my help for anyway?!”

“To answer your first question, you do not have a choice. As to your second question, you will be helping me show ze world the true art of ze French pastry!” exclaimed Pierre.

“Hate to break it you, but I’m not much of a baker,” replied Ember in a deadpan tone.

“Who said you will be doing ze baking, mademoiselle? No, you will be helping moi in a different way.”

At this point Pierre summoned multiple kinds of pastries. Croissants, macarons, éclairs, and other various cakes floated in the air. A sense of dread filled Ember as she looked at them all.

“Wh-What exactly did you want me to do?” she asked, afraid of what the answer would be.

A malicious grin appeared on Pierre’s face. “Why, you will be my taste tester, mademoiselle.”

Ember went paler than she already was. “C-Can we talk about this?”

“No!”

As a pastry floated near her, Ember clamped her mouth shut to deny access. Just as the pastry came close, it fell to the floor when Pierre was hit with a double ecto blast and sent crashing into the wall. Quickly looking up, Ember felt relief wash over her when she found Danny and Danielle floating over her.

“Baby-Pop!”

While Danny went after Pierre, Danielle came down to unbind Ember.

“Glad to see us?” asked Danielle with a grin as she tore off the ecto doughnuts.

“Very,” replied Ember, rubbing her wrists. “How did you find me?”

“It was all Danny’s doing.”

A few minutes earlier…

Danny stopped his flight, looking down at the pastry shop with a narrowed look.

“It would make sense that a chef would hide in a bakery,” said Danielle. “I’ll go scope out some of the other bakeries to see if he’s hiding in one of them.”

“No. This is the place,” replied Danny.

The ghostling blinked in confusion. “How do you know that?”

“I…don’t know. It’s just that it FEELS like Ember is HERE, like I can SENSE her presence specifically. Come on.

The two headed inside, which led to this moment.

Ember was blushing brightly at what Mini-Pop told her. Baby-Pop could SENSE that she was here? Was this what she thought it could be?

She remembered Kitty mentioning something like this, how she and Johnny could just sense where the other was because of how close and in love they were. Did this mean she and Baby-Pop was getting to that point? Was Baby-Pop starting to gain feelings for her after all this time?

She had to shake those thoughts away. There were more important things going on right now, like having to kick fatso’s butt!

Summoning her guitar, she and Danielle rushed to meet up with Danny, who was in the middle of dodging flying éclairs.

“Sacré bleu! How dare you interfere with my work!” declared Pierre as he used his ghost powers to levitate some knives and fire them at Danny.

The white-haired teen quickly made a ghost shield, deflecting the knives. “What work? Kidnapping pretty girls for no reason? If you’re that desperate for a date, find someone your own age!”

Pierre let out a growl before levitating more kitchen equipment. Once again though, he dropped them when he was hit in the face by a green ecto fist.

“Hey, fatso! I’ve got a bone to pick with you! The service here stinks!” yelled out Ember as she floated next to Danny.

“Good one,” said Danny with a slight grin.

“Well I’ve been dealing with you for a few years now and picked up some of your quips,” replied the rock diva, returning the grin.

“You two are starting to annoy moi!” shouted Pierre, glaring at the teens. “I will not be denied!”

“Too bad!” exclaimed the ghost teens as they started to fly circles around Pierre.

Pierre didn’t stand a chance as he kept getting hit or blasted by the teens’ attacks. He was barely standing by the end of the barrage, covered in scuffs and bruises.

“S-Sacré bleu.”

Danny pulled out his thermos before handing it to Ember. “Care to do the honors, Miss McLain?”

“Well aren’t you chivalrous, Mr. Phantom,” replied Ember, taking the thermos.

She pointed the device at Pierre before pressing the button. After the many times she herself had been sucked up in this thing, she felt some enjoyment being the one behind the button this time. She watched as Pierre was trapped and with a satisfied grin she capped the thermos.

Walker’s right-hand man, Bullet, then made his appearance in a flash of light.

“Where’s Walker?” asked Danny with a raised eyebrow.

Bullet gave off a smirk. “He’s having a little fun with Tsujigiri.”

The teens glanced at each other, knowing what kind of “fun” Walker had. Ember then stepped forward with the thermos.

“You might need an extra large cell of this one.”

Raising an eyebrow of his own, Bullet watched as Ember released his new prisoner. Now she understood what she meant when he saw the fat ghost before him.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got just the place for him,” replied Bullet as he grabbed Pierre and pushed him through the portal.

When the portal closed, Ember let out a sigh of relief, happy that this was over.

“Are you okay, Ember?” asked Danielle, coming over with a worried look.

Ember gave her a reassuring smile and brought her into a hug. “Yeah, I’m okay, thanks to you and Baby-Pop.”

Danielle let out a giggle as she returned the hug.

“Why did that ghost kidnap you in the first place?” asked Danny.

He watched as a scowl appeared on the girl’s face. “That dipstick wanted to fatten me up with his damn pastries!”

The boy felt as if his ice core was going into overdrive as a memory of a dark future crept back into his mind upon hearing Ember’s words. He’s done everything in his power to bury those memories, still afraid of what could be. So wrapped in misery and despair, he almost didn’t hear Ember calling for him.

“Baby-Pop!”

“What!” exclaimed Danny, jumping fright.

“What’s wrong? It looked like you were about to have a panic attack,” replied Ember, worried and scared for him.

“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong! I’m doing great! Haha!” exclaimed Danny, even though it was clear to Ember that he was lying. “I…I need to get out of here. I’ll…I’ll see you guys later.”

Before Ember could stop him, he left like Death was on his tail. The girls looked at the spot where he was before Danielle spoke up.

“Ember…”

“Head on back to the hotel, Mini-Pop. I’ll go find him and bring him back.”

“Do you even know where he’ll be? Paris is a pretty big city.”

“I have a hunch. So just head on back to the hotel and we’ll see you later, okay?”

The little one didn’t like this. Something was clearly wrong with Danny and she wanted to help him, but she trusted Ember to fix whatever was wrong.

The girls went their separate ways, with Ember going to find her Baby-Pop.

-:-

Danny sat at the top of the Eiffel Tower, wallowing his despair.

“Why did that have to happen?”

“I had a feeling this is where you’d go, Baby-Pop.”

The halfa didn’t even react as Ember sat next to him.

“Leave me alone, Ember.”

“Can’t do that, Baby-Pop,” she replied, shaking her head. “Something is wrong and I don’t like seeing you like this.”

“…”

“What happened? One moment you were fine and the next you’re like this. In fact, the change happened after I told you what the dipstick tried to do to me,” said Ember. Something then clicked as she gave her friend a narrowed look. “You got a problem with the idea of me getting fat, Baby-Pop?”

Her narrowed gaze became a full on glare when Danny shuddered in fear. She was about to curse him out, but he spoke.

“It’s not that. It’s something else.”

“Baby-Pop, you better start explaining or else I’m going to smack you,” growled out Ember, her glare still on him.

An internal struggle happened in Danny’s head. He was afraid to tell anyone about **him** , but he knew Ember would not let this go.

“…Do you remember when you asked how I knew Clockwork?”

“What does the old timer have to do with this?!” demanded the fiery girl.

“Everything!” snapped Danny. He let out a sigh. “Just…Just let me explain everything before you decide to end me.”

“Baby-Pop?”

“It all started with a test. Since I was always busy protecting Amity Park, I didn’t have time to study. So I decided to actually cheat and steal the answers from my teacher.

(Ember’s eyes widened at that. She never took Baby-Pop as anything but a goody-goody)

This was a mistake though, as my teacher called my parents and met them at Nasty Burger to talk about me. My sister and my friends also went, probably because they were worried about me. That’s when it happened. One of the machines in the kitchen exploded, killing everyone…and I had to watch it happen.

(Ember was confused. She knew for a fact that Baby-Pop’s family and friends were very much alive)

In my despair I went to the only person I could turn to. Vlad. He was my enemy, but he was all I had left. Things didn’t get better though as the memories of everyone’s deaths kept haunting me, so I asked Vlad to take the pain away.

(Ember was scared. What did Vlad do to her Baby-Pop?)

He used a pair of gauntlets that would separate my ghost half from my human half.

(Her jaw dropped a little. Something like that was possible?!)

My ghost half though was warped by the negative feelings I had. He took the gauntlets from Vlad and used them against him. He then took Vlad’s ghost half and fused with him to become stronger. After that he killed me while Vlad went into hiding.

(Ember watched as tears came to Baby-Pop’s eyes)

The evil me, or Dan as he called himself, decided to destroy everything. Human and ghost alike would suffer at his hands as he had no qualms for killing ANYONE who stood in his way. Sometimes he would let them live, just so they could suffer. Johnny for example, Dan put him in a wheelchair by taking his motorcycle and smashing his legs.

And what he did to you. H-He purposely torn out your vocal cords, taking away your dream, and because of that you turned to food for comfort.

(Ember felt as if her fire core turned into an ice core. B-Baby-Pop…no, this Dan guy, ripped out her vocal cords?! How and when did this all happen?!)

The only reason this dark timeline never happened was because Clockwork came back to the past to prevent it, by having me fight my future self. Dan was the worst enemy I’ve ever faced, not only because of how powerful he is but because I’m afraid. Everyday I fear I might become like Dan. Everyday I fear I might hurt the people I care about because I was too weak!”

Ember had a lot to process. How long has Baby-Pop been dealing with this? She realized that he has been dealing with PTSD this whole time (if it weren’t for the fact of how serious this was, she’d have laughed at the thought of her getting fat triggering it) and he was still suffering because of it. Would he really still become this Dan Phantom if given the chance?

As she thought about it and went back over everything Baby-Pop told her, she realized something.

“…Danny. Danny, look at me.”

At the sound of his real name, something Ember almost never used, he turned to look at her. She reached up to grab the sides of his head so she could look him directly in the eye.

“It is impossible for you to become **him** , Danny.”

“You don’t know that, Ember,” he replied in a small, almost defeated voice.

“Yes I do, because you said so yourself.”

He looked confused. “Huh?”

“That test you mentioned. That happened awhile ago, right? And you took it without cheating, right?”

“W-Well, yeah.”

“And your friends and family are all alive and well. We both know that to be true.”

“Y-Yes…but that doesn’t mean I still can’t become like Dan.”

“Danny, you said it yourself that Dan is pretty much a fusion of you and Plasmius. Plasmius is gone and never coming back, so how can you possibly become Dan if half of him is no longer around?”

Danny was about to say something when what Ember said clicked. She was right…she was right! Dan technically only existed because of Plasmius, but the evil halfa was GONE. It really was impossible for him to become Dan!

Tears of relief came to his eyes before Ember brought him into an embrace. She let him cry on his shoulder as she rubbed his back and listened to him spout apology after apology.

“You don’t need to apologize, Danny,” stated Ember softly, holding him close. “I know you would never hurt me or anyone else. Even when we were enemies I know you would never permanently hurt me and the others.”

“It still hurt thinking I could have.”

“I know, but you don’t need to be afraid anymore, Baby-Pop. You have me, Mini-Pop, your family, and all of your other friends in your corner. If you ever need to talk about what’s bothering you, you can always come to us.”

“…Thank you, Ember. For everything.”

“You’re welcome, Baby-Pop,” replied the rock diva. She then reached up to place a kiss on his cheek, causing him to blush brightly. The two then just sat there, with Ember’s head resting on his shoulder, watching the sunset together. After a few moments, Ember spoke up in a soft tone. “Do you want to know how I died?”

She could feel him tense up. “Wh-What? You don’t have to do that, Ember!”

“I want to. You trusted me enough to tell me about Dan even though it was hard for you. I trust you to tell you about this.”

“Ember…”

“I wasn’t very popular in high school. In fact, I was considered a freak because of my love for music. I even had to deal with my own version of the A-Listers.”

“I definitely know your pain there,” replied Danny in a deadpan tone.

She smiled slightly before continuing. “Anyway, one of them came up to me one day and asked me out on a date. Being the naïve girl that I was, I was ecstatic that one of the popular boys asked me out.”

Danny felt dread wash over him as he felt he had an idea where this was going. “No…”

“…I waited for him at the movies for hours, telling myself that he was just running late, but he never came. I ran home and cried myself to sleep and because of how exhausted I was, I never woke up when the fire started.”

The halfa boy clenched his fists, anger coursing through his entire being. “Give me his name.”

She looked up at him, surprised to see him so angry. “Huh?”

“His name! Give me his name! Someone hurt you and I’m not going to let him get away with that!” exclaimed Danny, ready to go on a manhunt for this mystery person.

Ember could feel her core swell with love to the point that she felt like crying. This was the first time a boy has EVER shown any type of love and care for her. She reached forward and wrapped her arms around him in another embrace.

“Thank you for caring about me, Baby-Pop,” said Ember, tears running down her face.

“No one has the right to treat you like that, Ember,” replied Danny, holding her protectively. “If I had known…”

“It’s not your fault, Baby-Pop, so don’t go blaming yourself. Come on, we should head back. Mini-Pop is probably worried about you.”

“Yeah, she’s probably scared out of her mind right now.”

The two teens stood up, getting ready to fly. Before they took off, Ember grabbed Danny’s hand, intertwining their fingers. She smiled when she felt Danny give her hand a squeeze, as if he was giving her one more “thank you”. Hand-in-hand, they took to the skies and headed towards their hotel.

-:-

“Danny!” exclaimed the little one as she glomped him around the waist. She looked up at him with teary eyes. “You’re okay!”

He reached down and ran a hand through her hair, giving her a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I’m okay, Danielle. You don’t need to worry anymore. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good! Now that you’re feeling better, we can go to Ember’s concert!”

The rock diva frowned at that. As much as she would love to be on stage, she would rather stay here with Baby-Pop since she had a feeling he was still dealing with what happened earlier. She wanted to be there for him. She was about to say that as much, but Baby-Pop cut her off.

“She has a point, Ember. Don’t want to be late for your own concert.”

She stared at Danny like he grew a second head. “But, Baby-Pop…”

He stepped forward and brought her into his arms, causing her to blush. “I know how much this concert means to you, Ember, and I appreciate that you’re willing to cancel it for me, but I would rather see you perform and live your dream. Besides, you helped me a lot earlier to where I can finally move on and leave my fears behind. So don’t worry about me and go rock the house.”

Ember tightened her hold on him, happy that he cared so much for her. “Has anyone ever told you how much of a goody-goody you are?”

“If it means making you happy, then I’m a goody-goody.”

A giggle escaped her before she released her hold on him. She had a concert to get ready for.

-:-

The City of Light got even brighter as people gathered at the Eiffel Tower where Ember set up her stage. Danny was actually surprised that so many French citizens actually liked rock n roll music, since they always came off as preferring something softer in tone.

He looked over to the girl who has helped him so much during this vacation as she played her heart out to her fans. He saw how happy she looked as she played and came to a conclusion.

He never wanted to see her sad ever again.

PARIS END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Paris ended up longer than I expected, but I felt this was the perfect time for Danny and Ember to bring up their respective baggage.**
> 
> **Fun Fact: Another food item that is considered a French pastry is the ice cream cone, having originated in France around 1825.**
> 
> **Part three of the MHA version. The Dekusquad would arrive in Paris as the next destination, where Aoyama would take center stage since this is his home country. The villain for this chapter would have been another hero-turned-villain by the name of Chef Pierre. This version of the character would have been skinny, a smaller mustache, and was more of a cook than a baker. His Quirk would have been Kitchen (allowing him to turn any part of his body into a kitchen appliance) and he would have become a villain because he became resentful towards others who did not take him seriously simply because he was French and therefore a coward. Aoyama would be the one who defeats him, showing him what a true hero of France was like.**


	10. Amity Interlude 3

Tensions were high at the Fenton Works, but it wasn’t because of any of the humans.

Sitting at the kitchen table was Johnny 13, sweating bullets in fear while Kitty conversed with the Fenton matriarch. The biker ghost was wondering why Kitty was all friendly with Phantom’s mom and how he got dragged here.

His ear still hurt from when he got here. The moment Kitty tricked him into coming here, Mrs. Fenton grabbed him by the ear and demanded to know why he would look at other women when he already had such a nice girlfriend. It didn’t help when Phantom’s sister got involved, despite the hate that she and Kitty still hated each other.

So here he was, scared for his life as the threat of Mrs. Fenton gunning him down lingered over him.

“Would you lighten up, Johnny? As long as you behave yourself then nothing will happen,” stated Kitty with a smirk.

“Why do you hate me, Kitten?”

“I don’t hate you, Johnny. I just hate when you flirt with other women!” replied the biker chick, sending her man a glare.

“Seriously, Johnny. Why in the world would even do that in the first place?” demanded Jazz, also giving him a glare. “Not only is it disrespectful to Kitty, but all women everywhere!”

He needed a distraction, quick! “So where’s Danny at?”

“Don’t try to change the subject, young man, but if you must know Danny is on vacation right now, which means my husband and I are in charge of watching over Amity Park right now,” replied Maddie before sipping her coffee.

The look she was giving Johnny made the biker ghost want to run and hide. He wondered if he could get Shadow to cause some bad luck and give him an opening to escape.

“I wouldn’t even try, Johnny,” said Tucker, noticing how Johnny was looking for an exit. “Mrs. Fenton could give Vlad a run for his money.”

Johnny slammed his face into the table in defeat.

Sam rolled her eyes before turning to the others. “So where do you think Danny went to this time? So far he’s been to New York City and Tokyo.”

“I’m saying Danny-boy has gone to Transylvania!” exclaimed Jack, walking into the room and overhearing the conversation. “It’s where I’d go for a vacation!”

The teens all glanced at each other while Maddie let out a sigh.

“Jack, dear, I don’t think Danny would want to go to Transylvania of all places. Remember, Transylvania is more known for vampires than ghosts,” explained Maddie.

The Fenton patriarch scowled at the reminder of his former friend. He then let out a sigh. “Okay, no Transylvania then.”

Maddie gave him a comforting pat on the arm before pulling out a plate of fudge, to which he beamed happily and brought his wife into a loving hug.

Tucker’s phone then went off. “Looks like we’ll find out now.”

**Hey, Tuck. Got the next batch of photos for you. You and the others will probably be surprised where I went this time.**

Everyone raised an eyebrow at Danny’s message. Now they were really curious as to where he went.

Opening up the file, some jaws dropped at seeing the photos. They saw photos of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Jardins du Trocadéro, and the Eiffel Tower.

“Danny went to Paris?!” exclaimed Jazz, shocked. “Since when did Danny have interest in Paris?!”

“I think it’s nice that Danny is broadening his interests,” stated Maddie, happy that her son is getting some culture.

“Aw, he’s so lucky to have gone to the City of Love~” stated Kitty with a sigh. She then glared at her boyfriend. “Johnny! Why won’t you take ME to Paris?!”

“Kitty…” said Johnny with a whine.

He really wished he had stayed in bed.

INTERLUDE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **It’s Johnny’s turn to enter the scene and Kitty is not making it easy for him, especially since she has Maddie in her corner.**


	11. London Calling Act 1

The sun shined down onto the ghostly tour bus. It was currently parked, having arrived at its destination a few hours ago, but none of the occupants had left the vehicle.

Inside, Ember was still in bed, but she wasn’t alone. She was currently snuggled up against Danny, who had his arm around her and held her close.

 _‘This is the life,’_ thought Ember with a smile.

As to how they got into this situation was as such. The night they left Paris, Ember had asked Danny to join her for the night, stating that her bed would have been more comfortable than the passenger’s seat. He tried to decline, blushing all the while, but Ember was able to convince him by saying that neither of them should be alone anymore. Once they were in bed, Ember snuggled up to Danny and they promptly fell asleep.

 _‘The only problem though is what are we now?’_ thought the fiery girl with a frown. _‘We are clearly passed the “friends stage”, but we’re not really a couple yet.’_

Thinking back to last night, Ember wanted nothing more than to confess feelings to her Baby-Pop, but after everything he told her about the alternate dark future, she had to hold back. She felt confessing to him would just put more weight onto his shoulders right now and she didn’t want to make things more complicated for him.

No, she would confess to him when the time is right. Right now, she was just happy that he was here with her and didn’t push her away.

She felt him stir, telling her that he was awake.

“Morning, Baby-Pop~”

“Morning, Ember,” replied Danny, eyes still closed with a smile on his face. “Judging by how it feels like we’re stopped, I’m guessing we’re at the next city?”

She gave off a grin, even though he couldn’t see it. “Yup!”

“You going to tell me where we are?”

“How about you guess? It’ll be more fun that way.”

“You at least going to give me a hint? There are thousands of cities in the world that we could be at,” he said, opening his eyes to look at her.

“Sure, Baby-Pop. It’s my favorite city in the world,” stated Ember with a smirk.

“…That’s not really a hint,” said Danny, but thought about it anyway. He then gave off a grin. “We’re in London.”

Ember stared at him wide-eyed. “How the hell did you figure it out that quickly?!”

“Simple. You’re the Rock n Roll Queen and I figured with as big of a fan of rock that you are, you would like the place where some of the best rock bands of all time came from. You’ve got Queen, The Clash, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Eric Clapton, Foreigner, and that’s just from London. From England as a whole you’ve also got Def Leppard, Black Sabbath, and The Beatles as examples. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that we would have ended up in London at some point.”

If it weren’t for the fact that they were already in the bed, Ember would have jumped him by now. The fact that he actually KNEW about those bands sent a tingling sensation through her body. Most other teens their age would have no idea who those groups were and would only care about the modern crap. Then there was the fact that he called her the “Rock n Roll Queen”.

_‘Marry me, Baby-Pop. Be my king!’_

She snuggled up to him once more as they closed their eyes, both enjoying each other’s company. So relaxed, they didn’t noticed someone entered the room until they felt something climb onto the bed and tiny hands forced Danny’s eyes open. He was met with the pouty glare of the little one.

“Danny! When are you going to get up? We’ve been sitting here for hours and I’m hungry!”

He let out a groan. “Ember, can you handle this?”

“What time is it, Baby-Pop?” asked the rock diva, not opening her eyes.

Looking over at the clock, he replied. “Almost 9:00.”

“Sorry, Baby-Pop, but before 10:00 Mini-Pop’s your responsibility.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’ll still need to get up. I can’t leave the bed with you’re arms around me like this.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s not, but we need to feed Dani.”

“We really need to teach you how to cook, Mini-Pop,” said Ember, looking over at the ghostling. “How did you even survive this long if you’ve been on your own?”

“Mostly from taking food from restaurants when no one was looking or taking the food they threw away,” replied Danielle with a shrug.

It was silent for but a moment before the teens scrambled out of the bed. Danny carried his little clone out of the room under his arm like a sack of potatoes, while Ember quickly got started on making breakfast.

-:-

After breakfast, the three were walking through the streets of London.

“Let’s see. We can go see Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, the London Eye, Leadenhall Market, Big Ben. There’s a lot to see here in London,” said Danny.

“So what’s the plan, Baby-Pop? Which one are we going to first?” questioned the rock diva.

“I think the bigger question here is, what is the London Eye?” asked Danielle, looking curious.

“Actually, now that Mini-Pop brought it up, what’s this eye thing?”

Danny grinned before pointing in a certain direction. The girls looked to where he was pointing, where Ember’s eyes widened while Danielle looked confused.

“What is that?” asked Danielle.

“When did they set up a Ferris wheel?!” questioned Ember.

“It was about seven years ago that it opened to the public,” explained Danny. He turned to the girls. “You want to go on it?”

“Yeah! It looks like it’ll be fun!” declared Danielle, bouncing up and down in excitement.

“How about you, Ember?”

“Sure, what have I got to lose,” replied the fiery girl with a smirk.

“Then let’s head on over,” replied Danny with a smile.

The three made their way to the giant Ferris wheel and was soon able to board one of the pods. As they started to move, Danielle looked out the window, while Ember snuggled up to Danny.

“This is nice,” said Ember.

Danny wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close. “Yes it is.”

“Man, London actually looks pretty cool from up here,” said Danielle, still looking out the window.

A slight grin appeared on Ember’s face. “If you like the city, Mini-Pop, then you’ll love the music. When we get back to the hotel tonight, I’m going to introduce you to some of the best bands rock n roll has to offer.”

The teens watched as Danielle’s eyes lit up in excitement

-:-

When the ride on the London Eye was over, the three headed towards Westminster Abbey as their next stop. Once inside, Ember performed the Sign of the Cross before they went in further.

“Why do they have a collection of heads on display?” asked Danielle, slightly scared as she stepped closer to her current guardians.

“Those are busts, Mini-Pop,” replied Ember with a slight giggle. “They’re usually made out of stone or metal.”

“Why are they here?”

“They’re funerary monuments, to honor the departed,” explained Danny. He then pointed at a specific bust. “The most well known one here would be William Shakespeare, who was considered one of the greatest writers in history…although I was never a fan of _Romeo and Juliet_.”

Ember turned to Danny with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t like _Romeo and Juliet_?”

“I just find it to be one of his weaker works. I never really understood how Romeo and Juliet could be in love with each without getting to know each other,” stated the halfa with a shrug. “It feels kind of shallow. And trust me, I know about shallow love.”

Ember narrowed her eyes on the grimacing boy. “Are you talking about that “admirer” you told me about before?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Unfortunately, yes. She’s one of the A-Listers at my school.”

 _‘All the more reason to punch out her teeth!’_ thought Ember, clenching her fists. “I’m guessing she keeps harassing you because you saved the world.”

“She’s been harassing me a lot longer than that,” muttered out Danny.

Ember gained a blank look. “What?”

“Back when my identity was revealed I had saved her from a ghost attack and she’s pretty much been stalking me ever since. She’s even gone as far as to make a shrine of me in her locker.”

“…So she’s a freak.”

“More like a pink parasite as Sam likes to call her,” replied Danny with a grin, but it didn’t stay for very long. “What did I ever see in her?”

Ember tensed up upon hearing that, anger and jealousy coursing through her. “Wait, you actually had a thing for this freak?”

“Unfortunately. As time went on it finally clicked in my brain how much of a shallow, terrible person she is and I wanted nothing to do with her. I still don’t want anything to do with her.”

“And yet she still tries to get into your pants.”

“Huh?” questioned Danielle.

“Never mind, Mini-Pop. Anyway, what’s this parasite’s name?”

“Paulina…wait, what are you planning?” questioned Danny, giving her a suspicious look.

She just gave an innocent look in return. “What do you mean, Baby-Pop?”

“…We’re in a church, Ember, and if memory serves right about the Catholic teachings, it’s not a good idea to lie in a church.”

The innocent look became a pout. “Fine, I planned on finding her when we got to Amity and telling her to back off!”

“I can pull a prank on her if you want,” stated Danielle, giving a cute little smile.

“See, Mini-Pop knows what needs to be done.”

The boy facepalmed at this. “Neither of you will be doing anything. I’ll handle her when we get back home.”

“Yeah, and how many times have you already tried to handle her only for her to keep coming back?” asked Ember, unimpressed. She got her answer when Danny looked away. “I thought so. I’ll deal the freak when we get back.”

“Let’s just go.”

Ember smirked in victory as she and Danielle followed Danny out of the church.

-:-

The rock diva gave out a low whistle when they arrived at Leadenhall Market.

“This place almost looks like a shopping mall.”

“Well there are a few clothes shops here,” stated Danny, catching Ember’s attention.

“Well I know where I’ll be going while we’re here. If I’m lucky there might even be a music shop,” said Ember with a grin. “Come on, Mini-Pop! You’re with me!”

The little one let out a groan as she followed Ember, leaving Danny to shake his head in amusement. He then set off on his own errands. He was planning on getting some ingredients as he planned on making dinner for the three of them tonight.

“Let’s see, what would be good for dinner?” he asked himself. He soon came across a butcher shop and got his idea. “Simple, but effective.”

After purchasing everything he needed, he went to go find Ember and Danielle, but stopped when he spotted a florist. He saw a specific flower and quickly went over to the shop.

“Hello, young man. Is there anything I can help you with today?” asked the old woman that ran shop, giving him a friendly smile.

“Yes, I was wondering if it was possible to have some flowers delivered.”

“I suppose that could be done. Which flowers would you like?”

“These ones,” said Danny, pointing at the flowers he spotted. “I think my friend will really like them.”

“Oh, so these are for your friend?” she asked as she gathered a bouquet of the flowers. “Would this happen to be a lady friend?

“Yeah,” replied Danny with a soft smile. “She recently helped me out of a slight depression, so she’s special to me.”

 _‘Ah, young love,’_ thought the old woman with a smile of her own. “Now where would you like these delivered, dearie?”

Danny wrote down the hotel, the room number he was staying at, and what time he’d like it delivered before he gave it to the florist. Once he paid for everything, he said his goodbyes and went back to searching for the girls. It didn’t take long to find them and the bags they were carrying.

“You’ve got quite a haul there. What’d you do, buy out the shop?” asked Danny with a teasing grin.

“Just some necessities for later, Baby-Pop,” replied Ember, returning the grin. “What did you get?”

Danny lifted up his own bags. “Dinner for tonight.”

Ember raised an eyebrow while Danielle’s eyes sparkled at the thought of food.

-:-

Back at the hotel room, Ember watched in awe as Danny worked in the kitchen. When he told her that they were going to have roast beef and mashed potatoes, she was skeptical, but was soon proven wrong when Danny knew his way around the kitchen.

“…Since when do you know how to cook, Baby-Pop?”

“I taught myself a long time ago,” replied Danny as he kept preparing the meat. “There have been times when my parents would really get into their work, so Jazz and I would have to fend for ourselves. And before you say anything, this didn’t happen all of the time. Mom still did most of the cooking.”

For a moment, Ember was worried that Baby-Pop’s parents were neglectful, which actually went against what she’s seen of them. She was glad that Baby-Pop had parents that loved him no matter what. She found him to be lucky in that regard.

There was a sudden knock at the door, breaking Ember out of her thoughts.

“Hey, Ember, can you get that?” asked Danny, making the final preparations and placing the roast into the oven.

Standing up, Ember made her way to the door, opening it to find a bellhop holding a vase full of flowers.

“Special delivery for Ember McLain,” said the bellhop, handing over the vase.

“Huh?” questioned the confused girl, accepting the vase. Tipping the bellhop, she closed the door and looked at her present with a raised eyebrow. “Who would send me a bouquet of Lily of the Valley?”

“Do you like them?” asked a whispered voice in her ear.

She felt shivers of pleasure go down her spine. She turned to find Baby-Pop standing behind her, causing her to blush slightly. “You got these for me? Wh-Why?”

“When I saw them, I thought you might like them. I got you Lily of the Valley for two reasons.”

“And what would those reasons be, Baby-Pop?” asked Ember, feeling warmth spread through her body.

“Well, in the langue of flowers Lily of the Valley signifies the return of happiness. As for the second reason, as a musician you can probably figure that out,” explained Danny with a grin.

A grin appeared on Ember’s face. “It’s the title of a song on the Queen album Sheer Heart Attack. Oh, Baby-Pop~”

She reached up to place a kiss on his cheek before going to place the vase on the table. She then went back to her Baby-Pop to bring him into a hug.

“I knew you’d like them,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.

“I love them. Thank you, Baby-Pop.”

Over on the couch, watching TV with the new plushy she got at the market (a lion dressed as a British king), Danielle rolled her eyes. Ever since they left Paris, Danny and Ember have been acting weird.

Whatever was going on, she hoped they’d do something about it soon.

-:-

Meanwhile, elsewhere in an alley in another part of the city, a shadowy figure was shambling down the path, looking for his next victim. He looked up at the moon, his single red eye glowing malevolently.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **London is up next and Danny and Ember are getting even closer. But who is this shadowy villain and what will happen when our heroes cross his path?**


	12. London Calling Act 2

“Alright, Mini-Pop. The first band I’m going to teach you about is possibly the best thing to come out of England. I say possibly because Queen also exists. Now be amazed by the music and vocals of…The Rolling Stones.”

Ember hit play on her phone and let the ghostling listen to “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”. She grinned when she saw the little one’s eyes widen a little as the song played. At least that meant Danielle didn’t hate it.

In the kitchen, Danny was busy making some sandwiches with the leftover roast beef. He was surprised that they even had any leftovers, considering how Danielle eats. Hell, he was surprised that Ember ate more than she usually would.

 _“You better be careful, Baby-Pop. If word gets out that you can cook like this the Lunch Lady will challenge you to a cook off!”_ she had said with a satisfied look. He took that as a compliment.

With plate of sandwiches in hand, he made his way to the living area, grinning when he saw Danielle getting into the music.

“Enjoying the lesson, Danielle?” he asked, placing the sandwiches on the table.

“You bet!” chirped the ghostling. “I can’t wait to hear the rest!”

Danny let out a laugh as he sat next to Ember, who immediately snuggled up to him.

“So, Baby-Pop? Where we headed to today?”

“Well I figured since we did a lot yesterday we could stay here and relax for a bit and then head on over to the Tower of London this afternoon.”

“Sounds like a plan,” replied Ember. Especially since that meant more time snuggling with her Baby-Pop!

“So what’s the Tower of London?” asked Danielle as the next Rolling Stones song, “Jumping Jack Flash”, started to play.

“You’ll find out soon enough, Dani,” said the older halfa with a grin, causing the ghostling to pout.

-:-

It was a nice afternoon as the three were making their way to the Tower of London. They were currently on the double decker bus to their location, although Danielle asked why they couldn’t just fly.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” was Danny’s response as he looked at the building passing by. The three of them were currently sitting on the top half of the bus.

“…But we’re in London.”

“What he means, Mini-Pop, is that sometimes if you want to enjoy a vacation you should do what the natives do,” explained Ember, leaning against Danny.

The Tower of London soon came into view as they came to their stop. Getting off, they headed on inside.

“I thought you said we were going to a tower? This is a full on castle!” exclaimed Danielle looking on in awe.

“Yes it is and it is a very important castle as it houses the Crown Jewels,” explained Danny. Seeing the little one’s confusion, he explained further. “The Crown Jewels are pretty much the crowns and scepters that have been owned by every king or queen of England.”

“And they let tourists here?”

“It’s not like they leave them unguarded, Mini-Pop,” said Ember.

“Of course you still need to buy tickets or a pass to see them,” added Danny. He then grinned and held up three passes. “Luckily, I thought ahead and bought them earlier this morning and had them delivered to our room.”

Ember merely rolled her eyes, but accepted her pass anyway. “Always prepared, aren’t you, Baby-Pop?”

“And I’m not even a boy scout.”

“Says the goody-goody,” replied the rock diva with smirk, while Danny grinned.

Danielle pouted while she watched her guardians flirt. “Can we get going? I want to see the inside of the castle!”

“Okay, okay, Danielle,” replied Danny with a laugh. “We’ll see the castle.”

Before the three could actually enter though…

“Caw!”

The sound of flapping wings could be heard as a raven landed atop of Dani’s head. Two more ravens then landed on her shoulders. She blinked in confusion while Danny and Ember watched on with blank looks.

Danielle then gave off a beaming smile. “Aw, they like me! Can I keep them?!”

“No you can’t keep them!” stated Ember, putting her hands on her hips and giving the ghostling a narrowed look.

A voice soon called out to them.

“I am so sorry! They don’t usually do this!”

The three looked over to see a man dressed in a black and red outfit with a crown logo on his chest.

“…You’re the Ravenmaster, aren’t you?” questioned Danny.

The man smiled. “Indeed I am!”

“Ravenmaster?” questioned a confused Ember.

“He takes care of the ravens, Ember.”

“Well why are there ravens here to begin with, Baby-Pop?” she furthered questioned; crossing her arms and turning her narrowed look at him.

He just gave off a shrug. “They’ve just always been here. There’s a belief that they’re here to protect The Crown and the Tower, with the superstition being that if the ravens are lost or fly away that the Crown will fall and Britain with it.”

“Ah, you know your history, young man,” said the Ravenmaster, impressed.

Danny rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment from the praise.

“Are you sure I can’t keep them?” asked Danielle, reaching up to pet one of the ravens.

“Yes, Mini-Pop, we’re sure you can’t keep them,” replied Ember in a deadpan tone, earning a pout from the ghostling.

“Come here you three,” said the Ravenmaster as he held out his arm for the birds. “You know better.”

The ravens then started to caw loudly, confusing their caretaker and the ghost trio.

“Is this normal?” asked Danny.

“No, this is quite strange,” replied the Ravenmaster in concern.

It was then Danny felt it. An ominous feeling washed over him and it didn’t take long for   
Ember and Danielle to feel it as well.

“D-Danny…” stuttered out Danielle, afraid.

“Yeah, I can feel it,” replied the older halfa before blue mist escaped his mouth.

It was then the ghost manifested before them. He wore a tattered trench coat and top hat. His face was wrapped in bandages, except for his mouth and one eye. In his hand he held a scalpel.

“It’s been so long,” spoke the ghost as he looked at the Tower. He then turned to his audience, more specifically Ember. “Time to pick up where I left off.”

The ravens flew away and the Ravenmaster ran, leaving Danny and the girls on their own. Danny transformed into his ghost form and stood in front of the girls, keeping his eyes on his opponent.

“Who are you?” demanded Danny, having a bad feeling about this.

“My name is not important, child. All you need to know is that I will not allow you to stand in my way.”

“Hate to break it to you, but that’s not going to happen, especially since I have a very good idea of who you are,” stated the halfa. “Jack the Ripper.”

Ember’s eyes widened in fear upon hearing that name. This was Jack the Ripper?! This was bad, very bad.

“Baby-Pop, we need to get out of here. Now!”

“You and Danielle get out of here, Ember, but I’m not going to let The Ripper run amok,” said Danny, not taking his eyes off The Ripper.

“I don’t see why you two are making a big deal out of this,” stated Danielle. “He doesn’t look so tough.”

“Ember, get Danielle out of here now!” demanded Danny, knowing that she’ll underestimate this monster.

He then charged forward to take on The Ripper.

“Baby-Pop!” shouted Ember. She then had to grab the little one as she tried to follow after Danny.

“Ember! Let me go!” exclaimed Danielle as she struggled in Ember’s arms when the rock diva flew in the other direction.

“Not a chance, Mini-Pop! That ghost is a monster because of what he did in life,” stated Ember.

“And we’re just going to leave Danny on his own?!”

“No! I’m going to get you to a safe place first and then I’m going back to get Baby-Pop out of there.”

“But…”

“No buts! The Ripper is a monster who won’t hesitate to kill you just because you’re a girl!” yelled Ember as she gave the child in her arms a disciplinary look. “Even when he was alive he was feared. He was never caught and no ever found out his real identity. There are even stories in the Ghost Zone that say he might never had been human to begin with, a demon that roamed the earth looking for victims.”

“But Danny,” said the little one, tears coming to her eyes. She didn’t want to lose her only family.

Ember held the child close to her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to Baby-Pop, okay. I know how important he is to you. He’s important to me too, and I won’t let him deal with this alone.”

The rock diva found that she had flown towards the familiar clock tower. She placed Danielle on the ledge, telling her to stay put where she’ll be safe. Summoning her guitar, she then headed back to where her Baby-Pop was fighting that monster.

-:-

Danny fired ecto blast after ecto blast to try and maneuver The Ripper away from the Tower and innocent people.

“You are foolish if you think you can stop me, child,” stated The Ripper as he dodged Danny’s attacks.

“I will stop you!” yelled out Danny, glaring at the serial killer. “I will not allow you to kill anymore people!”

“If you know me, child, then you know I never killed people. Whores do not count as people,” explained the villain. “Of course, you wouldn’t know that since you seem to be traveling with one.”

“Don’t call her that,” hissed out Danny, his eyes flashing red for a moment.

“Watch your tone, child. You know what I say is true.”

“No it’s not!” yelled out Danny as he charged forward to throw a punch, only to be blasted back by The Ripper’s own ecto energy.

“Remember, child. I was never caught when I was alive, so don’t think YOU will be the one to finally stop me.”

“Why did you even kill anyone?!” shouted out Danny. “People speculate that you were possibly a doctor, because of how the victims were cut up. If that were the case, then why would you kill?! You’re supposed to SAVE people, not KILL them!”

A murderous grin slowly grew on The Ripper’s face. “Because I could.”

With a roar of anger, Danny shot a large blast of ecto energy at The Ripper. Due to the size and the speed of the attack, The Ripper wasn’t able to dodge in time and took the hit.

“There’s more where that came from!” exclaimed the halfa.

The Ripper glared at the teenager in annoyance. Apparently he’s been underestimating this boy. That would need to change.

A green energy fist then came his way. This one he avoided and glared at the girl who dared to attack him.

“What’s wrong? Don’t like the idea of a woman standing up to you?” taunted the rock diva as she glared hatefully at the serial killer.

“Ember! What are you doing here?!” demanded Danny.

“Did you honestly think I’d let you fight this guy by yourself?! And before you ask, Mini-Pop is safe, so focus on this guy!” replied Ember.

“The both of you are starting to annoy me,” stated The Ripper with a growl. “I will enjoy killing you before I go find that young one that was with you.”

“Like hell you will!” yelled out Ember as she wielded her guitar like an axe. She was NOT going to let this monster anywhere near Mini-Pop.

Swinging her guitar, as she got closer to her target, she was hoping to knock his head right off his shoulders. Unfortunately, she was blown back by The Ripper’s ghostly energy.

Before she could go too far, Danny caught her in his arms. She glared up at him. “Now do you see why I didn’t want you to fight him alone?!”

“So he’s strong, but don’t forget I fought Pariah Dark, Undergrowth, and my future self, all of whom are WAY stronger than this guy,” explained Danny.

“Yeah and you had trouble with all of them! So don’t even think about telling me to leave!” exclaimed Ember, her glare still on Danny.

“I’m not going to stand here and possibly see you get hurt, Ember! He’s not keeping it a secret that he wants you to be his next victim!”

Despite their arguing, the two ghostly teens were still paying attention and had to dodge an incoming slice from the Ripper.

“This will all be over quickly if you hand the whore over, child,” stated The Ripper.

They glared at him as Danny hissed out. “I told you not to call her that. And there’s no way I’m letting you put your hands on her!”

“I see. That is a shame, isn’t it,” replied The Ripper, letting out a sigh. He then gave off a grin. “Then I guess I’ll just take that young one from earlier!”

Danny and Ember tensed up as The Ripper took off in the direction he noticed earlier, leaving the two to quickly go after him before he reached Danielle.

“Ember!” called out Danny as they flew.

“What?!” snapped the rock diva, thinking he was going to blame her for this.

“We need to finish this! I have an idea, but I’ll need your help!”

Despite the situation, Ember smiled a little.

-:-

Danielle sat atop the clock tower, trying to hide as best she could. She wanted nothing more than to help Danny and Ember in this fight, but with how scared Ember was it scared her too.

“I hope they’re okay,” said Danielle as she hugged her legs and put her head on her knees.

“What’s wrong, young one?” asked a voice, causing Danielle to jump. She looked over and she felt fear engulf her as there stood The Ripper.

“S-Stay back,” stuttered out Danielle, transforming into her ghost form. “I’ll blast you if you don’t!”

“My apologies, young one, but this will all be over soon,” stated The Ripper as he raised his scalpel.

The villain didn’t have a chance to do anything to Danielle as an icy beam hit him head on and a blue and black blur scooped up the ghostling and got her out of the way.

“Don’t you touch her!” shouted Danny and Ember as they glared hatefully at the monster trapped in ice.

The ice cracked and broke as The Ripper freed himself. He glared back at the teenagers, now truly angry with them.

“It is time to end this, once and for all,” growled out The Ripper as he began to gather his malice and change form. He grew in size and his face became grotesque as he was now covered in a black cloak like the Grim Reaper. His right arm had been replaced with a large blade, fitting of his moniker.

“You’re right, this will be the end!” yelled out Ember.

“But you will be the one to lose!” finished Danny.

With a roar, The Ripper flew towards his would be victims, ready to cut them to pieces. As he drew closer, Danny took a deep breath while Ember positioned her guitar and raised her guitar pick in the air. The moment the serial killer was close enough, they let loose.

A Ghostly Wail, combined a strong guitar riff, collided with The Ripper, who was desperately trying to block out the noise.

“What is this?!” cried out The Ripper as he was being pushed back.

The two teens didn’t let up as the kept the sound waves coming. Thanks to Ember’s abilities, Danny’s Ghostly Wail was actually enhanced, making it more powerful. The Ripper continued to shout in pain, unable to take it anymore.

“Nooooooooooooo!” wailed out The Ripper before the noise became too much for even him.  
With an explosion, the noise did its trick. When the smoke cleared, there floated a dazed serial killer, now back in his original form. Danny wasted no time whipping out the thermos and capturing the historic villain. As he was getting sucked up, The Ripper regained his bearings.

“What?! No! This isn’t supposed to happen! I am not supposed to be captured!” declared The Ripper as he fought the suction. “I will not allow this!”

“Too bad you no longer have a choice, you monster,” said Danny as the evil ghost was finally brought to justice.

Capping the thermos, Danny let out a sigh of relief that it was finally over. He then let out an “oof” when something tackled him.

“Danny!” cried Danielle, holding onto him tightly.

“It’s okay, Danielle. He’s gone now,” stated Danny, running a hand through her hair to try and calm her. “He’ll no longer be able to hurt anyone ever again.”

“You are correct, Daniel.”

The three jumped at the sudden voice, but calmed down when Clockwork appeared before them.

“Clockwork? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t Walker be the one coming to collect?” questioned Danny, greatly confused.

“Normally yes, but given whom you captured, I wanted to personally be the one to bring him to Walker,” explained the timekeeper.

“Any reason why, old timer?” asked Ember.

“For centuries I’ve had to watch Jack the Ripper terrorize both the living and the dead, but since he was not a threat to the time stream there was nothing I could do about it.”

“You could have just asked me to stop him, Clockwork. You know I would have,” stated the halfa.

“Indeed I did, Daniel, and that’s why I did not ask for you to stop The Ripper,” said Clockwork.

“…That makes no sense,” replied Ember in a deadpan tone.

“As you’ve witnessed, The Ripper was a powerful opponent. It wasn’t until now that Daniel, after all of his experiences, would have been able to deal with him and even then it would still be a challenge for you. It was only because you had help that you were finally able to end The Ripper’s reign of terror.”

“Well I won’t deny that,” said Danny. “Ember and I do make a pretty good team. I don’t think I would have been able to beat The Ripper that easily without her.”

Ember blushed slightly, while Clockwork smiled.

“I will be taking this now,” said the timekeeper as he took the thermos. “I shall return it empty later tonight.”

“Thanks, Clockwork.”

“You’re welcome, Daniel. Now I suggest the three of you return to your hotel room. You’ve earned the rest.”

Clockwork then took his leave, leaving the three to head back to their hotel.

-:-

The stars were starting to come out by time they reached their hotel. Once inside, Ember immediately went to the bedroom and closed the door. Danny frowned, knowing that something was wrong.

“Danielle, can you go watch TV for a bit? I need to talk with Ember about something,” said   
Danny, looking over at the little one.

She was hesitant, but complied. “Okay…”

As she headed to the living area, Danny headed to the bedroom door. He knocked a few times before speaking.

“Ember? Ember, I know something’s bothering you. If it’s something I did then I’m sorry, but please don’t shut me out. Just…just talk to me, please?”

It was silent for a few seconds before he heard a click. The door opened, allowing him entry. Once he was inside and the door closed, he felt arms wrap around him from behind and a wetness on his back.

“Do you have any idea what you almost did?” she asked so softly that Danny almost missed it.

“Ember?”

“Why do you have this idea that it’s okay to throw your life away when fighting these monsters?” she continued to question. “I know you were willing to sacrifice yourself to stop that monster if I hadn’t come back. Do you even know how Mini-Pop would have felt if you were just gone? Do you know how I would have felt?”

He exhaled out of his nose. “As long as you and Dani were safe, that was all that mattered to me in that moment.”

“That’s not a good enough answer!” growled out the fiery girl, turning Danny around to glare at him. “Just because you’re a hero doesn’t mean you should throw your life away! What about your family back home? What do you think they would do if they found out you died while on vacation?!”

“But…”

“I still remember when you fought Pariah Dark with that suit thingy and how it drained your own energy when you used it,” stated Ember, frowning. “Back then we were still enemies, yet you were still willing to risk your life to save everyone, human and ghost alike.”

“I was not going to let Pariah Dark hurt anyone. It didn’t matter if they were human or ghost.”

“But you could have just sent him back to the Ghost Zone and let us “evil ghosts” rot.”

“…I never saw you and the others as evil, Ember,” replied Danny, looking away from her.

“…What?”

He let out a sigh. “Why do you think I would just send you guys back to the Ghost Zone? Yeah, a lot of you guys caused trouble, but I never took it as evil. The only ghosts I would ever consider truly evil would be Pariah Dark, Plasmius, Vortex, Prince Aragon, maybe Undergrowth and Skulker, and now The Ripper.

When you told me about how you died, that cemented what I always figured, that most of you are probably just angry over something you had no control over. Granted, I could have handled things better and tried talking to you, but would you have listened back then?”

“…No, I supposed none of us would have listened,” replied Ember, resting her head on his chest. “It still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t like the thought of you sacrificing yourself.”

“…Well, I did tell Clockwork that we make a pretty good team. Would you like it to stay that way?” he asked, gaining her attention.

“Baby-Pop?”

“As much as I hate to say this about them, but my friends and family can only do so much because they’re human. Since you’re a ghost you’d be able to keep up with me and watch my back, keeping me out of trouble,” explained the halfa. He then became nervous. “S-So how about it, Ember? Do you want to be my partner? I’d understand if you say no, considering your policy on duets.”

She couldn’t help but giggle at his “duet” crack. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close, leaning her forehead against his.

“Looks like you’ve got yourself a partner, Baby-Pop.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Thank you, Ember.”

“If you really want to thank me, you should join my band. You’ve got a nice set of pipes on you,” she said, referring to his Ghostly Wail.

“I’ll have to pass. Your singing voice is leagues above mine.”

She giggled once more with a blush. “We should get to bed, Baby-Pop. We’ve had a long day today and even bigger one tomorrow.”

“Your concert, right?”

“Yup!”

“Alright. Let me just get Danielle to bed and I’ll be right back.”

There was then a knock on the bedroom door. Opening it, the teens were met with a fidgeting Danielle, who was holding her lion plushy close.

“Danielle? Is something wrong? I was just about to come and make sure you were in bed,” stated Danny.

“…C-Can I stay with you two tonight?” asked the little one, unable to look them in the eye. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”

The teens glanced at each other, figuring that her run-in with The Ripper scared her more than they thought. Wanting to prevent the nightmares, they each gave her a warm smile.

“Sure thing, Mini-Pop.”

They could see the relief wash over the ghostling. Once everyone was in their sleepwear, they climbed into bed with Danielle lying safely between Danny and Ember. Saying their goodnights, they drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

The nightmare was over before it began.

LONDON END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I’m starting to think I should have revealed the villain in this chapter, because you guys knew right away who it was going to be. Oh well, the trip to London is done and Danny and Ember are even closer now.**
> 
> **Fun Fact: A fictional version of Jack the Ripper has encountered Sherlock Holmes in five different novels.**
> 
> **Here is part four of the MHA version. In that version, the Dekusquad would end up in London and encounter a man dressed like a British punk (think Manchester Black from the Superman comics). The man, Nigel, would act as a tour guide for the group, but this is a farce to gain their trust. It is then revealed that what Nigel really wants is to take over the country and become the next king by stealing The Crown Jewels. His Quirk, Golden Touch, allows him to turn anything he touches into gold (he can control the Quirk’s activation) and it’s because of this ability that he believes he should be king instead of wallowing in the slums. While he does eventually get his hands on The Crown, the Dekusquad were able to put a stop to him.**


	13. Amity Interlude 4

Flying through the air on her hover board, the Red Huntress AKA Valerie Gray was on her way to Fenton Works. The reason being is that she was not in a good mood right now. For the past few days she’s had to deal with ghosts attacking the town and during that time she had not seen Danny even once. Just because it was summer vacation doesn’t mean he could slack off!

“He’s lucky that I’ve forgiven him,” growled out the girl. “He also better have a good reason for not protecting the town.”

She landed in the backyard, the one place the vultures were not allowed to go on the Fenton property, and deactivated her suit. She then walked up to the backdoor and knocked. When the door opened, she wasn’t surprised to see Tucker here.

“Valerie? What are you doing here?” asked the young mayor, surprised to see her.

She gave him a narrowed look as she crossed her arms. “I’m here to talk to Danny.”

Tucker broke out into a sweat. It was clear to Valerie that he was nervous about something. Before she could call him out on it, the voice of Mrs. Fenton was heard.

“Tucker, who’s at the door?”

“Uh, it’s Valerie, Mrs. Fenton,” replied the tech geek, happy that someone else could deal with this.

“Oh! Well invite her in! Lunch is almost ready and she’s welcome to join us!”

Valerie raised an eyebrow at this, but came inside anyway when Tucker stepped aside. Once inside she found Maddie at the counter making sandwiches and sitting at the table were Jack (waiting for the sandwiches), Jazz (reading a book), and Sam…and that was it.

“Where’s Danny?”

“He’s on vacation, dear,” said Maddie, not taking her eyes off her work.

Valerie had a blank look on her face. “What?”

“If it makes you feel better, he didn’t tell us either,” said Sam, pointing to herself and Tucker.

Jazz was the one to explain to Valerie why Danny was on vacation. When she was done, the huntress was annoyed.

“He’s going to get it when he gets back,” stated Valerie with a slight growl.

“Oh I already planned on having a talk with him about not telling his friends where he’s going,” said the Goth girl, still annoyed by Danny forgetting to tell her.

“To Danny. May he at some point in his life get out of the doghouse,” said Tucker, raising his can of soda. This earned him glares from Sam and Valerie.

“Why is Danny in the doghouse?” asked a female voice.

Everyone turned to see Kitty and Johnny coming up from the floor. Upon seeing the ghosts, Valerie quickly went to grab one of her pistols, but Tucker and Sam held her down.

“Valerie! Stop!” exclaimed Tucker.

“Are you crazy?! Why are there ghosts here?!” demanded Valerie, glaring at the two ghosts, making Kitty pout.

“Hello, Kitty, Johnny. You’re just in time for lunch!” said Maddie with a smile as she placed the plate of sandwiches on the table. Luckily she made more than enough, given her husband’s appetite.

“Thanks, Mrs. Fenton!” chirped Kitty as she made her way to the table.

Valerie had a blank look on her face as she watched the ghosts sit down and grab some sandwiches. “What the hell?”

“Kitty and Johnny are friends of Danny’s,” explained Tucker. “And as you can see, Mrs. Fenton has taken a liking to them…well Kitty, anyway.”

Johnny grimaced at that.

“…Did I step into the Twilight Zone or something?” questioned Valerie.

“I asked myself that same question when this started,” replied Jazz in a deadpan tone.

“You’d be surprised by how many of Danny’s friends are actually ghosts,” stated Sam.

The young huntress rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. “It’s official, Danny is REALLY going to get it when he gets home.”

“To Phantom. He lived a good life,” said Johnny, raising his can of soda. It was his turn to be glared at by Sam and Valerie. Kitty just rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.

The telltale sound of Tucker’s phone caught everyone’s attention.

“Time to see where Danny-Boy’s been to this time!” exclaimed Jack with a grin.

“This time?” questioned Valerie.

“Danny’s been to New York City, Tokyo, and Paris so far,” explained Jazz. “We’ve been trying to guess where he might go next.”

Tucker opened up the message for all to see.

**Another batch of photos coming your way, Tuck. And let me just say, I had a jolly good time here.**

Greeting them were photos of the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Leadenhall Market, the Tower of London, and Big Ben & the Palace of Westminster.

“Ha! I knew he’d go to London next!” exclaimed Kitty. She then turned to Jazz with a smug grin. “Pay up.”

The eldest Fenton child grumbled out how Kitty just got lucky before she took out some bills and handed them over to the biker chick.

“Why couldn’t Danny have gone to Rome? He likes those gladiator movies for Pete’s sake!” moaned out Jazz as Kitty counted her winnings.

Off to the side, Valerie was still trying to make sense of all of this. Danny better have answers for her when he returned!

INTERLUDE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Valerie’s up next to join and much like Sam, she is not pleased that she was left in the dark about Danny’s vacation. Not only that, but now she has to interact with ghosts on friendly terms.**


	14. Vancouver Shakedown Act 1

Danny sat across from Ember, a blank look on his face while a smirk was on hers. The only sound that could be heard in the bus as it drove to the next destination was the sound of Ember’s London concert that Danielle was rewatching on Danny’s phone.

“So why are we going to here of all places?” questioned Danny, pointing at a certain spot on the map.

“Is there something wrong with that place, Baby-Pop?” asked Ember, still with a smirk on her face. She loved teasing her Baby-Pop like this.

“It’s the complete opposite of you.”

“How so?”

“You’re fun and this place is not. People have even given it a nickname because of how boring it is over there,” explained the halfa. “So again, why are we going there?”

“Well like you said, Baby-Pop, it’s a boring place, so I thought I could hold a concert there to liven things up a bit,” stated the rock diva. “And aside from that…I felt you could use a vacation from your vacation.”

“…Huh?”

Seeing his confused look, she explained. “Baby-Pop, after what happened in Paris and then in London, you need a break.”

“And this is the best place for that?”

“Well considering how we probably won’t encounter a bad ghost here, then yes, this is the best place.”

Danny still wasn’t sure about this.

-:-

Water splashed beneath their feet as they exited the bus. Taking a look at their surroundings, Danielle gave off a pout.

“This place looks kind of boring.”

Danny turned to Ember. “Now do you see why I was skeptical about this?”

The rock diva merely rolled her eyes. “I’m sure there are some things to do here in Vancouver, Mini-Pop.”

“I doubt it,” replied the ghostling in a deadpan tone.

“Regardless, we’re here, so we might as well make the best of it,” said Danny. “By the way, where’d you even get these jackets, Ember?”

Despite it being the summer, it was quite cool in Vancouver, which meant to dress appropriately. Danny was wearing a black jacket, Ember was wearing a dark purple jacket, and Danielle was wearing a white jacket.

“I told you I bought some necessities when we were in London,” replied the fiery girl with a smirk.

Danny raised an eyebrow at that before looking over his new jacket. “Okay, next question. How’d you even know my size?”

“As Kitty would say; woman’s intuition.”

“Why does that strangely make sense?” questioned Danny with a frown.

“Because it does. Now come on, let’s head into town!”

Danny just shook his head before he and Danielle followed after Ember. Hopefully they could find something to do while they were here.

As they walked through the city, Danny pulled out his phone to try and look up what landmarks Vancouver had to offer.

“Let’s see, while we’re here we can go to the Vancouver Convention Centre, Stanley Park, the Capilano Suspension Bridge, the Gastown Steam Clock, and the Lions Gate Bridge,” said Danny, before letting out a sigh. “It’s too bad we didn’t come here in three years. The Winter Olympics would be happening then.”

“Wait, really?” questioned Ember, turning to the boy. She gave off a pout. “Well that kind of sucks.”

“What are the Olympics?” asked a confused Danielle.

“Basically, Mini-Pop, the Olympics are a competition where teams from all around the world compete in a set of games to win medals. They hold Olympics in both the summer and the winter four years apart from each other.”

“So wait, if the next Winter Olympics are in…wait, what year is it?” asked the ghostling, looking up at Danny.

“It’s 2007. Which means the Winter Olympics will be in 2010 and the Summer Olympics will be next year,” explained the older halfa.

“…Do you think we can go see them next year? Please?”

The two teens saw the hope in the child’s eyes and couldn’t bring themselves to outright say no.

“We’ll think about it, Mini-Pop, but no promises.”

The little one took that as a victory.

They continued on their trek through the city. As they did, a voice called out to them.

“Danny?”

The raven-haired boy blinked in confusion upon hearing his name. Turning to where he heard the voice, he was surprised to see a familiar blonde and jock standing not that far from them.

“Star? Kwan?”

The blonde smiled happily before she and her companion went over to greet the trio. “Danny! It is you!”

“Uh, yeah. Hey, Star,” replied Danny, rubbing the back of his head. “So what are you doing here?”

“I’m here visiting family and brought Kwan to introduce him,” explained Star, as Kwan gave a friendly wave. “But I think the bigger question is what are YOU doing here?”

“He’s here on vacation,” stated Ember, butting in and giving the blonde a narrowed look.

The two A-Listers were surprised to see the rock star here before them, with Kwan being the one to say what they were both thinking. “Holy crap! It’s Ember!”

“Good to know you dipsticks haven’t forgotten my name,” replied the fiery girl in a deadpan tone.

“Ember, be nice,” said Danny, causing her to frown.

“Danny, are you really traveling with THE Ember McLain?” asked Star, star struck.

“Hey! I’m here too, you know!” squeaked out Danielle, catching Star and Kwan’s attention.

Danny had to facepalm while Star let out a squeal.

“Aw! Look how cute you are!” exclaimed the blonde cheerleader as she scooped up Danielle and started to nuzzle her.

“Danny! Help!” cried out the ghostling, as she struggled and squirmed to escape.

She was soon able to break free and once she was on the ground, she ran and hid behind Danny, giving Star a glare. Of course, it was like getting glared at by a puppy, which only caused Star to giggle at the sight.

“I didn’t know you had a little sister, Danny,” said Kwan, looking back and forth between Danny and Danielle.

“It’s…complicated. Look, is there anywhere we can talk in private?” asked the ghostly hero.

“Sure thing! I know this cozy little café you’ll like!” chirped Star as she started leading them down the sidewalk.

As they followed after them, Ember was giving Star a narrowed look. She didn’t like how friendly she was with Baby-Pop; especially since the rock diva knew the only human friends he had were the tech geek, the Goth, and supposedly the Red Huntress.

What was this girl’s game?

-:-

The café was pretty cozy, Danny would give Star that much. The small group was currently sitting in a booth, with Star and Kwan on one side and the ghost trio on the other. They placed their orders and decided to start their conversation while they waited.

“Okay, so where to begin…”

“I’ll ask what I asked earlier, Danny. Are you really traveling with Ember McLain?” asked Star, her eyes sparkling.

“Yeah, we’ve been traveling together for awhile now. Got a problem with it?” questioned Ember, giving the blonde the stink eye.

Star didn’t seem to be phased by it. “Not at all! I think it’s pretty cool that you two have been traveling with each other!”

The rock diva raised an eyebrow at that, not expecting that answer at all.

“How come you two are traveling together anyway?” asked Kwan, curiosity in his eyes.

“It was a spur of the moment thing, to be honest,” replied Danny with a shrug. “My family convinced me to go on vacation by myself, to get away from the vultures. On my first stop in New York City, I met up with Ember and after we took down a mobster ghost that was harassing her, we decided to travel together for the summer.”

“You went to New York City?”

“We’ve also been to Tokyo, Paris, and London so far,” said the halfa with a slight grin.

Star let out a sigh. “You are so lucky!”

“Uh-huh,” replied Ember before giving the blonde another look. “Now how about you answer a question. Just who are you two to Baby-Pop?”

“Ember,” hissed out Danny, earning a glare from the fiery girl.

Star looked slightly embarrassed. “It’s hard to explain…”

Danny let out sigh, knowing that he was going to get a headache from this. “They’re part of the A-Listers back home, Ember.”

A slight flair up from her ponytail came from hearing that. “What?”

“But unlike Paulina and Dash, Star and Kwan don’t go out of their way to make people miserable. In fact, they’ve both apologized to me and my friends for how the A-Listers treated us.”

“Yeah and I bet it was after you revealed your identity to the world,” muttered out Ember.

“Actually, it was long before that,” replied Danny with a smirk, surprising the rock diva.

“It’s true,” added Kwan. “There was one time when I got kicked out of the A-Listers and learned what it felt like to be treated like a nobody.”

“And I was actually willing to leave the A-Listers to stay with Kwan,” said Star. “In the end, Kwan was accepted back into the A-Listers, but we both decided that we needed to apologize to Danny and his friends for how they were treated.”

Ember was still confused. “Wait. So if you’ve all been on friendly terms this whole time, why didn’t you hang out more often?”

“Because I told them not to,” stated Danny, catching Ember’s attention. “Ember, you’ve dealt with your own set of A-Listers when you were alive. You KNOW what would have happened if the Queen Bee caught these two hanging out with the “losers” of the school.”

She scowled at the thought because she DID know. “Why the hell are you two still in that group then when it’s obvious you’d rather hang with Baby-Pop?!”

“We still enjoy the perks of popularity,” said Star. “Of course we both know that it won’t last forever and can’t get you everything in life. In fact, the only reason my family is rich is because my grandpa worked hard for all of his life and then taught the meaning of hard work to my daddy, who then taught it to me.”

“And I want to be a scientist in the future, but I know being popular won’t get me that job,” added Kwan with a smile. “So we might as well enjoy the popularity now and when graduation comes, Star and I will go to college to work hard to earn what we want.”

“…I feel like everything I’ve ever known is a lie,” stated Ember in a deadpan tone.

“Just goes to show that you can’t judge a book by its cover,” said Danny with a laugh. “You just have to get to know a person to learn how they truly are.”

“Yeah, I guess,” said Ember before turning back to Star and Kwan. “Hey, the name’s Ember and any friend of Baby-Pop’s is a friend of mine.”

This earned her friendly smiles from the young couple.

Their food soon came and they dug in, with Danny once again trying to keep Danielle from inhaling her food.

“I swear, I think you inherited Dad’s appetite,” stated the halfa as the little one pouted.

Ember had to suppress a shudder at that. She was so thankful that her Baby-Pop didn’t take after his old man in everything.

“So this really is your little sister?” asked Kwan, confused. “I thought Jazz was your only sister?”

“Nope, always had a little sister as well,” replied Danny, not really wanting to tell Danielle’s origin.

He might be on friendly terms with Star and Kwan and didn’t distrust them, but this was something he couldn’t just tell anybody. Hell, he hasn’t even told Jazz about Danielle yet. The only ones who knew were Sam, Tucker, Valerie, and Ember and that was enough for now. He knew when he got home though, he would tell his parents and that was because he wanted Danielle to have a home to come home to.

“So Danny, what are you, Ember, and your sister planning on doing while here in Vancouver?” asked Star.

“Same thing we’ve done in every other city; find a hotel, visit some of the local landmarks, and then enjoy the concert Ember puts on,” he replied with a smirk.

“Seriously? You’re holding a concert here?” questioned Kwan as he and Star looked at Ember in excitement.

It was the fiery girl’s turn to smirk. “Yup. While Baby-Pop and I travel together, I get to have a World Tour.”

“And her concerts are awesome!” declared Danielle, making Ember’s smirk to turn into a smile.

“Any chance we could come and see it?” asked Star. “Please?”

“Well, normally you’d have to buy tickets, but since you’re some of Baby-Pop’s REAL friends, I think I can make an exception this time,” replied Ember, glancing at Danny and giving him a teasing smirk. This caused him to roll his eyes.

“Thank you so much, Ember!” chirped Star. “And as a thank you, how about I give you a tour of the city tomorrow? I can show you all the sights and landmarks Vancouver has to offer!”

Ember and Danielle turned to look at Danny, who just gave off a shrug.

“I don’t see why not. You’d probably know more than I would, so it would be helpful.”

“You’d be surprised how much of a walking encyclopedia Baby-Pop is,” added Ember. “I learned more about the places we’ve visited from him than anywhere else.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” replied Danny with a slight pout, causing the girls to giggle.

Tomorrow was a big day of exploring for the small group.

-:-

Meanwhile, up in the North Shore Mountains, a lone woman trekked through the snow towards the city.

“I can sense him. Why is he here though? Oh Great One, are you here to prevent a tragedy?”

She continued on her way, hoping to find The Great One before something could happen to her home.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I bet none of you were expecting Vancouver as the next stop. Reason being is that…well, Vancouver was not part of the MHA version of the story, so I wanted to add something to the DP version to make it its own thing. Because this city wasn’t originally planned, that’s why it’s taking me a bit longer to get the chapters out. So please bear with me on this as I’ll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible.**
> 
> **That being said, who could this mysterious woman at the end be?**


	15. Vancouver Shakedown Act 2

A brand new day has begun and Star was all smiles, as she stood before the group, ready to play tour guide for her friends.

“So who is ready to explore Vancouver?” questioned the chipper blonde.

“I am!” exclaimed Danielle. “Where will we be going to first?”

“I figured we could head to Gastown first, then over to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park after crossing Lions Gate Bridge, and then we can finish with the Convention Centre and Stanley Park afterwards since it is close by. While we’re at Stanley Park we can check out the aquarium!”

“Aquarium?” asked the little one, looking confused. “What’s that?”

“It’s like a zoo, but for fish and other sea-life,” answered Danny, ruffling the child’s hair.

The ghostling started to bounce up and down in excitement. She remembered when Danny took her to the zoo back in New York. It was fun!

“Then let’s get going!” yelled out Danielle. She was about to run on ahead, but Danny scooped her up.

“You don’t even know where it is, Danielle,” said Danny with a laugh as he held her under his arm like a sack of potatoes. “Just let Star give us the tour and we’ll get there sooner than you think, okay?”

Danielle could only cross her arms with a pout, signifying that she would listen. This made Star giggle, Kwan laugh, and Ember to roll her eyes in amusement.

As the group got on the bus, they didn’t notice the woman watching them from a distance.

“Great One…”

She took to the skies to follow after them.

-:-

“So why exactly is it called Gastown?” asked Ember as they walked through the neighborhood. “Doesn’t really sound pleasant.”

“The town is named after an old boat captain by the name Gassy Jack who settled here to open up the area’s first bar,” explained Star. “Without him there might not even be a Vancouver as Gastown is more or less the heart of the city.”

“Aside from the nickname, he sounds like a pretty cool guy if all he wanted was to open a bar,” stated Ember with a slight grin. “I wonder if I could find him in the Ghost Zone.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Try not to go overboard, Ember. I don’t need to get a call saying that you got arrested by Walker.”

“Aw, I knew you cared, Baby-Pop!”

Star giggled at the sight of the two ghostly teens’ flirting.

They continued on and soon came upon the most famous of Gastown’s landmarks. Danielle looked at the clock in slight disappointment.

“So why is it called a steam clock?”

Kwan was the one to answer with a grin. “You’re about to find out in three…two…one.”  
As the clock struck, it blew off steam through its whistles to produce the Westminster Chimes. The little one’s eyes widened, impressed.

“Okay, that was kinda cool.”

As Danny and Kwan explained to Danielle how the clock worked, Star and Ember had their own conversation.

“Hey, Ember? May I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Are you and Danny dating?”

“Wh-What?!” yelped Ember, a blush appearing on her face. She was not expecting that question. “Why would you even ask that?!”

“Well with the way you two act towards each other, I just thought you were dating,” said Star, innocently. “Plus you keep calling him “Baby-Pop” and that’s like a pet name, right?”

The blush on Ember’s face became a deeper shade. She then gave Star a glare, to which the blonde was unphased by. “What does it matter to you anyway if I’m dating Ba-Danny?”

“I think it’s cute!” chirped Star with a smile. “And from what I can tell, you actually like him for who he is and not what he is like all the other girls back home.”

A growl escaped Ember at the thought of those “Phan Girls” that Baby-Pop gained when he saved the planet. She then gave Star a narrowed look. “How come you’re not gaga for Danny? And isn’t that Queen Bee you follow also trying to get into Danny’s pants?”

Star let out a sigh of frustration. “Yes, Paulina is probably Danny’s biggest “fan”, always saying they’re destined to be together. It honestly does get annoying after awhile. As for me, while I admit that I respect and admire Danny for everything he’s done for Amity Park, my heart lies with Kwan and that will never change.”

 _‘…This girl’s a lot like Kitty,’_ thought Ember, seeing the loyalty Star had for Kwan. It was exactly like Kitty’s loyalty for Johnny.

“So are you and Danny really dating?”

Ember looked away, a blush on her face. “N-No, we’re not…”

“But you want to,” said Star, able to see it in Ember’s eyes. “Why not confess to him then?”

“I was going to, but some things that I don’t want to get into right now happened back in Paris and London and I just didn’t want to add more stress to Danny. I’ll tell him eventually though, when the time is right,” explained the rock diva.

“Well just know that I’ll be rooting for you!”

A small smile appeared on Ember’s face. “Thanks, Star.”

It was then that Danny, Danielle, and Kwan met up with them.

“So are we ready to see the rest of Gastown before we head to the next destination?” asked the halfa hero.

“Yup!” chirped Star. “You know, it’s too bad you guys can’t stay longer in Vancouver. The International Jazz Festival will begin later this month!”

Ember looked like she ate something sour. “Really? Jazz?”

Star turned to her with a frown. “What’s wrong with jazz?”

“It’s jazz.”

“Jazz isn’t that bad, Ember,” said Danny, earning a look from the fiery girl.

“You listen to jazz, Baby-Pop?” questioned Ember. She thought he had taste!

“Not really, but if I had to I would listen to it over something like country, for example.”

“…Okay, you have a point there,” muttered out Ember. She then turned back to Star. “So jazz, huh? No offense, but I honestly would have thought you’d be into boy bands.”

“That’s more Paulina’s thing. I prefer good music where the performer has actual talent.”

A grin appeared on Ember’s face. She was really starting to like this girl.

-:-

“I find it ironic that we need to cross a bridge just to see another bridge.”

The group was currently on the Lions Gate Bridge, making their way across to where Capilano Suspension Bridge Park was.

Danny rolled his eyes at his little clone’s words. “There’s more than just a bridge at the park, Danielle.”

“Danny’s right! A few years ago they opened an attraction called Treetops Adventure where people can actually walk across the canopy ninety-eight feet above the forest floor!” explained Star with excitement.

“…Danny, you can fly,” stated the little one, turning back to the older halfa.

“Yes I can, but that still doesn’t change the fact that I’d like to experience this like a human would,” explained Danny. “It’s kinda like how I want to be an astronaut one day. I might have already been to space as a ghost, but I still want to do that as a human since it will be a completely different experience.”

“I still think it’s weird.”

“You’ll get used to it, Mini-Pop,” replied Ember as she gave her Baby-Pop a teasing smirk, to which he gave her a deadpan look.

As they arrived at the park, they were still unaware of the ghostly woman that had been following them.

“Why is the Great One here? If something terrible is supposed to happen, why hasn’t it happened yet?” questioned the confused spirit. “Oh, I hope the Great One will be able to prevent whatever it is.”

She followed after the group as a means to keep an eye on the Great One.

The small group entered the park and found the main attraction.

“Whoa. That’s a long way down,” said Kwan, nervously as he looked over the suspension bridge to the river down below.

“Don’t worry, Kwan. As long as you stay on the path, everything will be fine,” stated Star, giving her boyfriend a reassuring smile. He returned the smile, some of his nervousness leaving him.

“And if by some small chance something does happen, I’ll make sure it won’t,” added Danny.

“Thanks,” replied Kwan, glad that he had friends like this.

They started making their trek across the bridge. As they walked they took in the natural scenery around them.

“It’s eerily quiet,” said Ember. “I’m not really used to this.”

“Such is the life of a rock star,” said Danny, getting a pout from the fiery girl. “I actually like the peace and quiet of nature. Reminds me of when I go fishing with my dad.”

“Your dad fishes?” questioned Kwan, surprised by that. “I always figured ghosts were the only things that interested him.”

“There are only two things my dad loves above all else. Ghost hunting and spending time with his family, the latter being number one,” explained the halfa with a grin. “As long as he has both, he’s happy.”

 _‘Wish I could say the same about my old man,’_ thought Ember with a frown.

“Hey guys, we’re almost to the end of the bridge,” said Danielle, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Then it’s off to the treetops!” exclaimed Star with a grin.

Later, the group was high above the forest, walking the man made path that connected from tree to tree.

“This is actually pretty cool,” stated the ghostling as she looked over the railing. “Never would have thought nature could be like this.” 

“Try not to say that in front of Sam,” said Danny with a sigh. “She’s my friend and I love her like family, but it can get tedious at times when she goes off on her love for nature.”

“She’d probably get along real well with Undergrowth then,” said Ember. “He’s obsessed with nature.”

“Is he a giant plant ghost?” asked Star. She then turned to Danny. “Didn’t you beat a giant plant ghost awhile back?”

Danny grimaced. “Yes and he was one of the toughest opponents I ever faced. If it weren’t for my ice core manifesting, I don’t think I would have been able to beat him and free Sam from his control.”

Up above them, the eavesdropping spirit’s eyes widened.

_‘The Great One fought Undergrowth and won?! Why am I just now finding out about this?!’_

She continued to observe them as they traveled through the park before it was time to leave for where Danielle had been waiting for all day.

-:-

Having arrived at the Vancouver Convention Centre, Danny had to keep Danielle from running off ahead to the aquarium in Stanley Park. He was able to do this by buying her a plushy moose dressed as a Mountie from a nearby souvenir cart, which calmed her down greatly.

“Aw, that’s adorable,” was what Star had said when she found out that Danielle was building up a plushy collection.

Making their way through the park, they took in the many sights the park had to offer. From the forests, to the beaches, to the lakes, until they reached their main goal of the aquarium.

“That’s a weird looking fish,” said Danielle, looking at the statue in front of the aquarium.

“That’s actually an orca, which are mammals like us,” explained Kwan, giving the child a smile.

“Huh?”

“You’ll learn more once we’re inside, Danielle,” said Danny as he herded the little one towards the aquarium, the others following after him.

Meanwhile, the mysterious spook continued to question what was going on.

_‘I must speak with the Great One, but how do I get his attention? Would he listen if I just went up to him and his companions?’_

She went inside to find the Great One, hoping that he would give her the time of day.

With Danny’s group, they went from exhibit to exhibit, looking at the various sea-life living at the aquarium. There were beluga whales, dolphins, otters, sea turtles, seals, and many other aquatic creatures that kept the ghostling entertained. Her eyes lit up when they reached the Amazon Gallery.

“They have monkeys!” exclaimed the child as she looked at the marmosets

Ember let out a slight laugh before turning to Danny. “I’m starting to think monkeys and gorillas are Mini-Pop’s favorite animals.”

“Well she does seem to be more attached to her gorilla plushy than the others she has,” replied Danny, rubbing the back of his head.

“I think it’s cute,” stated Star as she and Kwan looked at the parrots. “I mean, it’s not too out there for someone to have a favorite animal, right?”

Danny just gave off a shrug. “Not at all. It might sound boring, but I’m partial to dogs myself.”

Thoughts of a certain green puppy entered his mind. He wondered how the little guy was doing.

“Danny! Can we get a monkey?!”

“No, Danielle. No monkeys.”

The ghostling pouted. She really wanted a monkey!

“Don’t pout, Mini-Pop. Trust me, monkeys are a lot of responsibility to take care of,” said Ember, ruffling the little one’s hair. “You wouldn’t have time for any fun if you had a pet monkey.”

“…But I like having fun.”

“Then no monkey.”

A groan escaped from Danielle, as she was upset that she couldn’t have a monkey. She was about to retort, but a blue wisp came out of hers and Danny’s mouths.

“Oh please be a good ghost,” pleaded the older halfa as he looked around for whoever set off his ghost sense.

Ember also went on guard while Star stood close to Kwan for protection. The perpetrator soon revealed themselves and the group’s eyes widened at seeing who it was.

It was a tall, busty woman with pale skin and bright blue eyes. Her dress reminded them of the Northern Lights and her long, flowing hair matched her dress.

“Great One,” were the words that passed through blue-colored lips.

There was a moment of silence before Danny facepalmed.

“Why me?”

Ember turned to her Baby-Pop with a blank look. “Great One?”

The halfa boy ignored her for a moment, focusing on the newcomer. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“I wish to speak with you, Great One. It is of great importance,” replied the woman.

“Danny, you think she can be trusted?” asked Kwan. He and Star lived in Amity Park long enough to know that most of the ghosts Danny dealt with tended to be enemies.

“If she were an enemy, she wouldn’t be calling me “Great One”,” replied Danny with a sigh.

“Which we WILL be talking about, Baby-Pop,” stated Ember, glaring at Danny and making him flinch.

Danny let out another sigh before looking back at the woman. “Where can we talk?”

The woman gave off a beaming smile now that she had an audience with the Great One.

-:-

Ember scowled at this turn of events. All she wanted was for Baby-Pop to have a stress free vacation and then some bimbo in a tight dress comes along and calls him “Great One”. Not only that, but they had to meet up with said bimbo in the North Shore Mountains, more specifically some place called Cypress Mountain.

According to Star, that was a ski resort.

It didn’t matter what it was to the rock diva. Having a fire core, she hated the cold (Baby-Pop being the exception) and there was too much snow up here! It was a good thing that they went and got the proper gear to stay warm.

Danny (who was wearing a black winter coat, white boots, and white gloves) stepped forward to address the ghostly woman before them.

“Okay, first off, who are you?”

“My name is Aurora, Spirit of the North and embodiment of the Northern Lights.”

Danny raised an eyebrow at this before turning to Ember (who was wearing a blue coat, white wool cap, and black snow boots) to find that her jaw had dropped.

“Ember?”

“B-Baby-Pop, do you have any idea who she is?!”

“…Judging by your reaction, I’m guessing she’s important.”

“She’s a nature spirit, Baby-Pop!”

He blinked in confusion. “You mean like Undergrowth and Vortex?”

Ember gave off an unladylike snort. “They wish. Those two are elemental spirits, like us. Nature spirits are different because if anything happens to them…well, let me put it this way. If Aurora ever disappeared, no more Northern Lights.”

The other teens’ eyes widened at that, while Danielle only looked confused. Danny turned back to Aurora in urgency.

“Is that why you came looking for me? Are you in some sort of danger?”

Aurora blinked in confusion. “I thought you would know, Great One. Is that not why you are here in this region? Lord Frostbite speaks very highly of you since you are the one who defeated Pariah Dark and are seen as a hero amongst the people. As a hero, are you not here because something awful is about to happen?”

Danny looked at Aurora with a blank look. THAT’S why she tracked him down? Because she THOUGHT something might happen just because he was here in Vancouver? He wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or annoyed over this misunderstanding.

“Hold on, back the truck up!” declared Ember, before turning to Danny with another glare. “Frostbite? You know Frostbite, too?!”

“Who’s Frostbite?” asked Kwan (who was wearing his Letterman jacket and black snow boots).

“He one of the bigwigs in the Ghost Zone, being the leader of a place called the Realm of the Far Frozen. Most ghosts know not to mess with him,” explained Ember, her glare still on Danny, who only looked back at her annoyed. “First Clockwork and now Frostbite?! What the hell, Baby-Pop?!”

“Hey, if it weren’t for Frostbite I never would have gained control over my ice powers and stopped Undergrowth!” explained Danny, hating how he’s getting the third-degree.

“Is that how you met the furball?”

At this, Danny looked sheepish. “Not exactly. I met Frostbite earlier that week when me, Tucker, and Sam crashed the Specter Speeder in his realm. That’s actually how I found out about being known as the “Great One” and “Savior of the Ghost Zone” for defeating Pariah Dark.”

Ember could only facepalm before returned to glaring at the halfa. “Only YOU can be that lucky, Baby-Pop.”

 _‘If I were lucky, we never would have been enemies when you and I first met,’_ thought Danny, not intending her to know that. He then turned back to Aurora. “Look, Aurora, I’m sorry to have made you worry, but I’m not here because some big tragedy is about to happen. I’m just here on vacation with my friends.”

“Wait, really? Then I was worried over nothing?” questioned the nature spirit, her bright blue eyes wide in shock.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” replied Danny, rubbing the back of his head.

“I should be the one apologizing, Great One,” stated Aurora, looking guilty. “After hearing of your exploits I foolishly assumed that you came here to prevent some sort of villainy from happening. How can ever make this up to you?”

“You don’t have to do that,” said Danny.

“It is the least I can do for causing you trouble,” said the nature spirit as she looked around. She smiled when she realized what time it was. “I’ve got it! Luckily the sun is setting, making this easier.”

The group looked over to see that the sun was indeed starting to set. Had they really been out the whole day?

“So what are you going to do?” asked Star (who was wearing a white winter coat, red snow boots, and a red wool cap) as she and the others looked at Aurora.

Aurora gave them a kind smile as her hands started to glow. “Normally I only do this in the winter months, but I will make an exception due to my own mistake. Please enjoy the show, Great One and friends.”

With a wave of her hands, everyone’s eyes widened when the Northern Lights appeared in the sky.

“Oh my god,” said Star is awe.

“So cool,” added Kwan.

“It’s beautiful,” stated Ember.

“…It sure is,” replied Danny, looking at the rock diva. With a smile, he then held out his hand towards her, gaining her attention. “Care to dance?”

“…You’re so cheesy, Baby-Pop,” said Ember, rolling her eyes, but let out a giggle and accepted his hand nonetheless.

As the two ghostly teens danced under the light show in the sky, Star let out a sigh, finding the entire scene romantic. She then felt a tap on her shoulder. Looking over, she found a smiling Kwan, holding out his hand to her. With a squeal, she gladly accepted the offer and started to dance with her love.

Danielle, being the child that she is, stuck out her tongue in disgust as she watched the lovey-dovey couples. The ghostling (who was wearing a similar outfit to Danny, except with mittens instead of gloves and a pair of white earmuffs) figured she’d better find something to do until they were done. Grabbing some snow, she shaped it into a ball and started rolling it on the ground so she could build a snowman.

With the way the others were going, she could probably build a few snowmen before they were done.

-:-

The next night, the people of Vancouver got a taste of some real fun as Ember rocked the stage she set up in Thurlow Plaza. Ember internally smirked as she gave “No Fun City” some REAL music for once. She watched as the Vancouverites jumped and cheered for her music.

Backstage, Danny, Star, Kwan, and Danielle also cheered, enjoying the show and showing support for their rock star friend.

Later on, when Ember finished her concert, she, Danny, and Danielle were standing next to her tour bus talking with Star and Kwan.

“Oh, I wish you guys could stay longer. I had so much fun hanging out with you!” said Star; sad to see her new friends leave.

“I know, Star, we had fun too, but if we want to get to the next city on time, we need to leave tonight,” explained Danny with an apologetic tone.

“Besides,” added Ember, looking away. “It’s not like this is the end. When the summer ends, I guess we can hang out or something when we all get back to Amity.”

Upon hearing this, Star gave off a beaming smile and the next thing Ember knew was the blonde bringing her into a big hug.

“I’ll be looking forward to it!” chirped Star.

“S-Stop hugging me!” yelped Ember, not used to such affection from other people aside from Kitty and Baby-Pop. This only made Star giggle.

Danny shook his head in amusement before giving Kwan a fist bump. “I guess the next time we see each other it will be right before school.”

“Looks like it,” responded the jock with a laugh. “I look forward to hearing about the rest of your vacation.”

“If it ends up being like the previous stops, you won’t be bored,” said Danny with a laugh. “Good luck on becoming a scientist, Kwan.”

“Same to you on becoming a astronaut, Danny.”

“I call shotgun!” exclaimed Danielle as she climbed onto the bus.

“Oh no you don’t! It’s late, which means it’s time for bed for you!” ordered Ember, following after the ghostling.

With another laugh and one last goodbye, Danny headed onto the bus, ready to head out. As the bus took off, Star and Kwan headed back into town to Star’s place for the night.

-:-

Back at Cypress Mountain, Aurora smiled at the three figures before her. It seemed that the little one had decided to build three snowmen or more specifically a snowman, a snowwoman, and a snowchild.

“Just like the Great One and his little family.”

VANCOUVER END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **We must leave Vancouver now. No villain this time either, as not every ghost Danny encounters is an enemy.**
> 
> **Fun Fact: The lights that appear around the Arctic and Antarctic regions are known as the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis respectively.**
> 
> **As I mentioned last chapter, Vancouver was not part of the original MHA version of this story, so no recap this time. Sorry about that to those who were wondering what would have happened if it was.**


	16. Amity Interlude 5

“So Danny is off travelling the world, huh?”

“That’s right, Damon! Danny-boy has been seeing the sights!” exclaimed Jack as he showed Damon Gray the pictures Danny had been sending. “I wonder if he’s fought off any bad ghosts?”

“Probably. Knowing Danny, even though he’s on vacation that won’t stop him from helping others,” stated Tucker from the living room where he and the other teens were. He was currently teaching Johnny how to play a racing video game.

Damon Gray let out a hearty chuckle. “You’ve raised a fine young man, Jack, Maddie.”

The Fenton matriarch smiled while the patriarch gave off a proud grin.

“I wonder where Danny went this time?” questioned Kitty, tilting her head. She then gave off a grin. “I want to win some more money.”

“I still say you got lucky last time,” muttered out Jazz.

“Yes I did, which is why I’m hoping to win again,” replied the biker chick, giving the brainiac a taunting smile.

“…Danny better have gone to Rome this time,” said Jazz with a hiss.

“I think he’ll go to Rio,” said Tucker. “It’s summer and Rio has one of the best beaches in the world!”

“That and hot girls in bikinis,” added Johnny with a grin. This of course earned him an ear pull from Kitty. “Ow!”

“You were saying something, Johnny?” asked Kitty with a smile that promised pain.

“No! I didn’t say anything! You’re the only girl who looks great in a bikini to me!” yelped the biker ghost as he tried to escape.

“Damn right I am,” said the green-haired girl as she let go of his ear.

Sam rolled her eyes at the scene, although deep down she REALLY hoped Danny stayed away from Rio. “I’m putting my bets on Athens. He started showing interest in Greek myths awhile back, so he might go there to learn more."

“Maybe he’ll come back to the US,” interjected Valerie. “I mean there’s San Francisco, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and so many other cities in this country to visit.”

As the teens continued to play “Where in the World is Danny Phantom”, no one noticed the little green fuzzball coming up the stairs until it made itself known.

“Arf!”

Everyone turned to where the bark came from to find a small, green puppy sitting there panting and wagging his flame-like tail. Upon seeing the pup, Tucker and Sam broke out in a cold sweat, while Valerie’s anger rose.

“You!” exclaimed the huntress as she whipped out one of her pistols.

Too bad Jack scooped up the little canine before she could fire.

“Look, Maddie! A ghost dog!” exclaimed the large man with a grin as he looked at the puppy.

“But where did it come from?” questioned Maddie as she inspected the creature. She then found the tag. “Axion Labs?”

“What?” wondered Damon, walking over to see. Seeing the tag, he frowned. “Oh no.”

Valerie raised an eyebrow at her father’s reaction, although she really hoped they would let the spook go so she could blast it. “Dad?”

Damon let out a sigh. “A couple years ago I had installed a new security system at Axion Labs and it was a success. Unfortunately that meant that there was no need for the guard dogs anymore.”

Everyone’s eyes widened at this.

“Y-You don’t mean…” started Valerie, hoping her father was lying.

“I tried to convince the higher ups to give the dogs proper homes, especially since some of the dogs were still young, but they wouldn’t listen.”

“That’s terrible,” said Kitty, tears coming to her eyes. How could anyone be okay with killing a puppy?

“But why did he come here?” wondered Maddie, running her hand down the puppy’s back, causing his tail to wag even more.

Tucker and Sam glanced at each other, knowing exactly why the pup was there. Jazz of course noticed this.

“Sam? Tucker? Do you know something about this?” asked the older teen, getting everyone’s attention.

It was silent before Tucker broke.

“Danny adopted him!”

“Tucker!” snapped Sam, giving him a glare.

“What?! We both know what Cujo is like and Danny is the only one who can control him!” exclaimed the tech geek.

The Fenton parents each blinked in confusion, before Maddie spoke up. “Wait, Danny adopted a dog?”

“And named him Cujo?” added Jack.

Sam took out her phone and dialed a number. The other end rang for a few moments before someone answered.

“Hello…”

“Danny! We have a problem!” stated Sam, everyone turning to her.

“…Sam, do you have any idea what time it is right now?” asked the tired voice of the halfa boy.

“It’s after ten in the morning over here, Danny,” replied the Goth in a deadpan tone.

A groan could be heard. “What’s the problem, Sam?”

“Cujo is here and you know how he is!”

“…Put me on speaker phone,” he commanded. When he heard the beep, he spoke again. “Cujo!”

The puppy’s ears perked up upon hearing his master’s voice, much to Jack and Maddie’s surprise. “Arf!”

“Hey, boy. I’m sorry, but I’m not there right now. I’ll be home in a few weeks when summer ends, do you understand?”

Cujo let out a whine, sad that his master wasn’t there.

“Now don’t be like that. I’ll be home before you know it. In the meantime, I want you to listen to everything Mom and Dad have to say, okay? Can you do that for me, boy?”

“Arf!”

“Good boy. Dad, if you can hear me, you’ll definitely like Cujo. He can scare away the vultures if you put him in front of them and tell him to scare them.”

Jack looked intrigued by this.

“Anyway, I’m hanging up now. Tuck, I’ll be sending the next batch of pics in a little bit before I go back to sleep. Goodbye and goodnight.”

The line then disconnected, signifying that Danny hung up. Not soon after did Tucker’s phone go off, telling them that Danny’s photos had arrived.

Opening up the file everyone saw pictures of the Gastown Steam Clock, Lions Gate Bridge, the Capilano Suspension Bridge, the Vancouver Aquarium, and surprisingly the Aurora Borealis over the North Shore Mountains.

Everyone who had placed bets had blank looks on their faces, as no one won the current bet.

“He went to Vancouver of all places?” questioned Tucker. “Why would he go to Vancouver?”

“Maybe to see nature?” thought Sam. She herself never would have thought to visit Vancouver, but seeing some of these photos, she might have to go there one day.

“I’m more concerned about how he got a picture of the Northern Lights in the summer,” stated Jazz.

“Regardless of Danny-boy’s reasons, as long as he’s having fun and fighting ghosts, that’s all that matters,” stated Jack with a smile, Cujo still in his arm. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to test something.”

The gentle giant walked over to the front door and opened it, revealing the vultures demanding answers to their questions. Ignoring them, Jack set Cujo down on the porch and pointed at the vultures.

“Scare them away, Cujo!”

“Arf!” Cujo started growling at the vultures before he transformed into a dog the size of a truck, much to Jack’s shock. “WOOF!”

The vultures screamed and ran away, no longer crowding around Fenton Works. Once they were gone, Cujo reverted back into puppy form and Jack lit up in happiness.

“Maddie! We’re keeping him!”

INTERLUDE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Cujo and Damon make their appearances, although the latter won’t always be there. Cujo on the other hand is officially part of the Fenton/Phantom family now.**
> 
> **Anyway, with this chapter I will be putting this story on hold for now. I know most of you don’t like to hear this, especially since Danny and Ember aren’t officially together yet, but I’m doing this for two reasons.**
> 
> **First off, I got to this point in the story a LOT faster than I thought I would (although that might be because I like world culture) and I feel if I keep going I will burn myself out. I’ve burned myself out writing before and it is not a pleasant feeling.**
> 
> **The other reason is because I want to focus on some of my other fics, which will be done at a slightly slower pace to avoid said burn out.**
> 
> **I WILL come back to this fic from time to time, so don’t think I’m abandoning it. As I mentioned, world culture is one of my favorite subjects and I would like to explore other cities around the world in this fic.**
> 
> **That being said, of the cites I’ve shown off so far, did I portray them and the cultures well?**


	17. L.A. Woman Act 1

As the tour bus made its way to its next destination, Danny tried his hardest to not let the green-eyed glare get to him, but considering whom those eyes belonged to…she was hard to ignore.

“How many times can I apologize, Ember? It’s not like I knew Sam was going to call in the middle of the night!” stated the halfa, trying to defuse the situation. “Considering how Cujo is, I honestly don’t blame her for panicking.”

“Yeah, well I don’t like my beauty sleep (and snuggling time, she added in her head) interrupted, Baby-Pop…”

“You needing beauty sleep is like you needing to brainwash people into liking your music. It’s unnecessary.”

The fiery girl ignored the interruption and continued to glare at him, but couldn’t help the slight blush that came from her Baby-Pop’s words and what they implied. “And if the Goth calls in the middle of the night again, I’LL be the one answering the phone!”

“Please don’t,” replied Danny with a sigh. “I’d rather Sam not know that I’ve been traveling with you. I know her well enough to know that if she knew I was with you that she’ll do whatever it takes to find me and take me home…and I’d rather stay on this vacation with you.”

Ember’s blush grew slightly. Was Baby-Pop really choosing her over the Goth? She could feel her core pulse at a rapid pace.

“If you want to know what I think,” spoke Danielle, catching Danny and Ember’s attention. The teens glanced at each other before looking back at the ghostling. “I think if Danny can have a dog, I should get a monkey.”

“No monkeys,” stated Danny and Ember with deadpan tones, causing Danielle to pout.

The older halfa let out a sigh before turning back to the rock diva. “Look, Ember, I’m sorry about last night. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“It better not,” replied Ember with a pout of her own before she sat next to Danny and leaned into him. She snuggled closer when she felt him wrap his arm around her shoulders.

“So where are we going to next?” questioned Dani.

When Danny glanced down at Ember, he found a grin on her face.

-:-

“Wow! This place is so cool!” exclaimed the ghostling as she and her guardians finished checking into their hotel and headed into the city to see the sights. She then looked at the ground in confusion. “Although I wonder why they decorated the sidewalk with stars.”

Ember couldn’t help but giggle. “That, Mini-Pop, would be the Hollywood Walk of Fame and one day you’ll see MY name on here!”

Indeed, the group of three had arrived in the city of Los Angeles, the City of Angels. Danny shouldn’t have been surprised that someone like Ember would want to come to the place where stars were born. There was just one problem that Danny had to bring up. He just hoped Ember wouldn’t kill him for it.

“Hey, Ember. I know you probably won’t want to hear this, but I don’t think you’ll ever get your own star on the Walk of Fame,” said Danny, rubbing the back of his head.

The fiery girl blinked a few times before turning to her Baby-Pop, her voice holding a slight hint of hurt. “Wh-What do you mean? You don’t think I can do it?”

If it had been anyone else, she would have told them to slag off, but this was Baby-Pop. She thought he believed in her and was confused as to why he was saying she would never get a star of her own.

“It’s not that! It’s just…I don’t know what it was like back when the Walk of Fame was first established, but in this day and age you have to pay money to get a star.”

A blank look appeared on Ember’s face while a confused one appeared on Danielle’s.

“What?” demanded Ember, not liking what she was hearing.

“That’s just how it is today,” replied Danny with a sigh. “Don’t get me wrong, some of these celebrities definitely deserve the recognition for their accomplishments, but wouldn’t you rather earn that recognition than buy it?”

“Of course I want to earn it!” exclaimed the rock diva. She then looked down, starting to feel insecure. “D-Do you think I can do it, Baby-Pop?”

He placed his hands on her shoulders, causing her to lift her head and ecto green eyes met with icy blue.

“I’ve told you before, Ember, that you’re very talented and I KNOW you’ll become one of the greatest rock stars of all time. Anyone who can’t see that is a blind, deaf idiot.”

Her core started to pulse again in that way that only the boy before her could make happen.

“Danny’s right! Your music is awesome!” chirped the little one with a beaming smile.

Ember felt like crying in happiness. “Thanks, Baby-Pop, Mini-Pop.”

“You’re welcome!” replied Danielle. “By the way, what are we going to do first while we’re here?”

“That’s easy, Danielle,” stated Danny with a grin. “I know Ember will want to explore Hollywood Hills and I want to check out Griffith Observatory at some point while we’re here, but we’re on summer vacation and we technically haven’t done one of the main things people do during the summer. So I think it’s time to hit the sand.”

The little one tilted her head in confusion, while Ember raised an eyebrow.

-:-

The summer sun shined down as the ocean breeze wafted through the palm trees on Venice Beach. Before the ghostly trio could enjoy the beach though, they had to get Danielle the proper attire. Danny had pack his swim trunks before leaving Amity Park and Ember already had a bikini, so that just left the little one needing beach wear.

Unfortunately for Danielle, she was pouting as Danny took it upon himself to choose her new clothes.

“Stop pouting, Danielle,” stated Danny as he looked through the racks at one of the nearby surf shops.

“I can pick out my own bathing suit, you know,” replied the little one.

“Considering what you picked out in the first place, I doubt it,” said Danny, glaring at the bikini Danielle had picked. It was a bit too revealing for a twelve-year-old to be wearing.

“Well why can’t I wear it then?!”

“Because boys exist and I know what goes on through their heads.”

Danny ignored the angry ghostling noises as he continued looking for something more appropriate for Danielle. Off to the side, Ember rolled her eyes in amusement as she watched the two. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of something on a nearby rack. Picking it up and examining it, she smirked.

“Hey, Mini-Pop! How about this one?” asked the fiery girl, holding up a blue, two-piece bathing suit that covered up more than the one Danielle picked earlier.

The little one beamed in happiness as she accepted the bathing suit, leaving Danny with a blank look on his face.

“What just happened?” questioned Danny as Danielle went on ahead to wait for her purchase to get paid for.

“It’s simple, Baby-Pop,” started Ember with a smirk as she brushed her finger across his chin. “I know what goes on through little girl’s heads and you don’t.”

Ember then sauntered away, a slight sway to her hips that captured Danny’s attention. He shook his head, not wanting to get distracted.

Too bad that when they hit the beach the half-ghost hero lost all cognitive function the moment he saw Ember in her black, two-piece bikini that really showed off all her curves.

“…Is Danny broken?” asked Danielle, wondering why Danny was just staring at Ember like that.

“You’ll understand when you’re older, Mini-Pop,” replied Ember, looking at Danny with a grin on her face. She walked over to stand in front of Danny and spoke in a soft, sensual tone. “Like what you see, Baby-Pop~”

He gulped nervously. “I’d…I’d be lying if I said no.”

Ember’s grin became slightly wider as happiness welled up inside of her.

“Glad to know. I like what I’m seeing as well,” replied the rock diva as she trailed a finger over Danny’s chest, having gained some muscle tone over the years of being a hero.

“If you two are done playing kissy face, can we get going to the beach now?” asked Danielle with a pout, already tired of seeing her current guardians flirting.

The teens blushed slightly before separating and leading the little one further onto the beach. Once they found a good spot, Danny laid out the beach towels and set up the giant parasol to help block out the sun.

 _‘Life is good,’_ thought Ember as she laid on her towel to soak up some sun. She glanced over to where the Phantom duo was and couldn’t help but smile at watching Danny trying to teach Danielle how to build a sand castle.

Unfortunately her good mood turned sour when a bleach blond muscle head decided to invade her personal space.

“Hey, babe. How would you like to be my arm candy?”

Ember glared up at the dipstick who would dare interrupt her relaxation time. It was clear that he thought he was God’s gift to women, with the cocky look on his face. He greatly reminded her of the A-Listers. Taking a quick glance over at Baby-Pop, she found that he was also glaring at the dipstick.

Glaring back up at the idiot, she spoke. “Beat it, if you know what’s good for you.”

“Ah, don’t be like that. I know you can’t resist all this,” replied the muscle head as he flexed his arms and chest.

“I would do what she says if I were you,” stated Danny, his glare still on this idiot.  
The muscle head gave Danny a cocky smirk. “Oh yeah? And what if I don’t? You going to stop me, shrimp?”

Danny merely raised an eyebrow. “Me? I could, but I won’t. Why spoil her fun, after all.”

That only made the muscle head confused. “Huh?”

The next thing he knew was an immense pain between his legs as he fell to his knees and then into the fetal position.

Ember continued to glare down at the dipstick as she lowered her leg. “I’ll say it again. Beat it or next time I’ll be wearing my boots. Got it?!”

“Yes, ma’am!” replied the muscle head in a much higher tone.

The ghostly trio watched as the muscle head crawled away, possibly to look for a bag of ice.

“That was so cool,” stated Danielle.

Danny made a mental note to teach Danielle to never use that maneuver in an actual fight. He then turned to Ember, who was looking at him with a smirk.

“…What?”

“”Spoil my fun”, Baby-Pop?”

“One thing I’ve learned from our very first meeting was that you’re not some damsel in distress. I knew you could handle yourself in this situation,” explained Danny with a shrug. He then gave off a grin. “Besides, you and I both know that you taking that idiot down hurt his ego way more than anything I could do.”

“Damn straight,” said Ember, returning the grin. “Now let’s go back to enjoying the beach!”

-:-

At the same time as the ghostly tourists were enjoying themselves, there was something happening at one of the movie studios in the Hollywood district.  
A ghostly woman wearing a sleeveless red dress and a long black fur boa waited impatiently for her companion to arrive.

“Where is he?” she demanded with a growl. “Orson! Get out here now!”

A crash could be heard as a short ghost quickly flew into the room. He wore a black sweater and cap and held a large green megaphone in his hand.

“D-Did you need something, Gloria?” asked the ghostly director.

“That’s Miss Desmond to you, DeMille,” growled out Gloria as she flicked her short black hair. She then thrust a piece of paper into Orson’s face. “Now tell what is this!”

Taking the paper from Gloria’s hands and looked it over. “This seems to be an advertisement for a concert.”

“I know that, you idiot! Who the hell is this?!” demanded Gloria, pointing at a familiar fiery-haired rock diva.

“I believe that’s Ember McLain, Miss Desmond,” replied Orson. “From what I hear, she’s actually pretty good. Looks like she’ll be holding a concert here in a few days.”

Another growl escaped Gloria’s throat. “How dare this hussy try to steal MY spotlight?! I am Gloria Desmond! I am the greatest actress Hollywood has ever seen!”

 _‘Only in your head,’_ thought Orson, biting his tongue.

“Well I’ll show her what happens when you mess with me!” exclaimed Gloria as she turned to leave. “Come, Orson! We must prepare for my greatest role yet!”

Letting out a sigh, Orson followed after his boss before she took her anger out on him.

-:-

The sun was starting to set, but the day wasn’t done yet. After spending time at the beach, Danny thought it would be for the best to finish the day at the nearby Santa Monica Pier.

He let out a chuckle when he noticed how his little clone’s eyes shone with excitement as she took in the sights of the amusement park.

“Ready to have some fun, Danielle?” questioned Danny, already knowing the answer.

“You bet!”

“You’re spoiling her, Baby-Pop~”

“Then I must be spoiling you as well since I was hoping to ride the Ferris wheel with you again.”

With a blush, Ember let out a few giddy giggles. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to snuggle with her Baby-Pop on the Ferris wheel.

As the stepped onto the pier, one of the many carnival games caught Danielle’s eyes and Danny knew right away that she wanted one of the plushies that it had as prizes.

“So all I have to do is knock over the bottles?” questioned Danny, playing the fool. He knew how these carnival games worked.

“You got it, kid,” replied the carnie with a smug smirk. He handed Danny three baseballs after receiving his money. “Good luck.”

Danny gave off a smirk while Ember rolled her eyes. She knew what Baby-Pop was going to do; especially since she also knew the game was rigged. So if the carnie was going to cheat, cheat back.

Using a little bit of ecto energy, Danny threw the ball and knocked over the bottles, much to the carnie’s shock.

“Well would you look at that. Got it on my first try,” said Danny, feigning surprise. He then turned to Danielle. “So which prize do you want, Dani?”

The little one looked up at the prizes before her eyes landed on a plushy lizard dressed in beachwear and holding a surfboard. She pointed right at it. “That one!”

With lizard plushy in hand, the three continued on into the park.

“It’s ironic that you’d get a lizard here in Los Angeles, Dani,” said Danny with a chuckle.

Ember gave him a confused look. “How is that ironic, Baby-Pop?”

He just gave her a smirk in return. “Now Ember, I thought YOU of all people would know the connection between lizards and Los Angeles.”

The raven-haired boy continued forward, starting to hum a VERY familiar song that made Ember stop and tense up.

 _‘Th-That’s “Light My Fire”! He knows about The Doors?!’_ thought Ember, a heat building up in her core as her breathing became heavy. _‘To hell with waiting until marriage! I need Baby-Pop now!’_

Before she could pounce and drag him back to their hotel room though…

“Danny! Can we go on the roller coaster first?! Please?”

She was reminded that they had a ghostling with them.

 _‘Damn it! Not like it’s Mini-Pop’s fault though,’_ thought Ember with a grimace. She was going to need a cold shower when they got back to the hotel later. It was then another thought entered her head. _‘Ugh, Baby-Pop’s not even officially my boyfriend yet and I’m already thinking of having sex with him. Easy girl, take it slow or you’ll blow your chances!’_

“Ember?”

“Huh?” replied the rock diva with a jump. She looked over to see Danny giving her a look of concern.

“You okay? You kind of looked like you were in a daze.”

“U-Uh, yeah, I’m okay. I was just surprised that you knew of The Doors.”

He let out a laugh. “Are you kidding? Who WOULDN’T know of The Doors? In fact, I would probably put them in my top five favorite rock groups along with Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, Queen, and Kiss.”

_‘…You’re not going to make this easy, are you, Baby-Pop?’_

For the rest of the night, Ember had to try and keep her amorous intentions in check.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And we’re back, ladies and gentlemen, and we’re heading to Tinseltown AKA Los Angeles for the next stop on the World Tour. Much like Vancouver, Los Angeles was not part of the original MHA version of this story.**
> 
> **Now I know some of you have been waiting patiently for this story to continue, but don’t forget, the first sixteen chapters were written and posted from May 12 to May 31. That’s little over half a month. I NEEDED the break to prevent burnout and to work on other projects. That being said, I’ll try to get the next two chapters out ASAP.**
> 
> **Anyway, I feel like The Doors would be Ember’s all-time favorite band since they were pretty much the poster band of rebellion in the late 60s and early 70s. Also, for the villains’ names, Gloria Desmond is named after actress Gloria Swanson and her character Norma Desmond from the movie Sunset Boulevard, while Orson DeMille is named after Orson Welles and Cecil B. DeMille, both of whom are considered some of the greatest movie directors of all time. ******


	18. L.A. Woman Act 2

It was a rough morning for Ember since she wasn’t able to get enough sleep the night before. Even after taking a VERY cold shower, her dreams were plagued by her Baby-Pop in ways that she couldn’t say aloud. She just hoped she didn’t moan in her sleep and wake up Baby-Pop or worse, Mini-Pop. THAT was a talk she did NOT want to have.

 _‘Why do I have this feeling that it’s going to be a LONG day?’_ she thought with a frown as she entered the sitting area of their hotel room.

“Morning, Ember!” chirped Danielle with a smile as she sat on the couch, watching TV.

“Morning, Mini-Pop,” replied the rock diva. She looked around and noticed that someone was missing. “Where’s Baby-Pop?”

“Taking a shower.”

 _‘...There’s an image that’s not going to leave for awhile,’_ thought Ember, trying to push down her blush.

“So what are we going to do today?” questioned the ghostling, looking curious.

Ember was thankful for the distraction. “Well, like Baby-Pop said yesterday, we’ll probably head to the Hollywood district and whatever that Griffith Observatory is.”

“What about where you’re holding your concert?”

A teasing grin appeared on Ember’s face. “You’ll just have to wait to find out, Mini-Pop.”

Danielle could only pout while Ember sat next to her to wait for Danny. They didn’t have to wait very long as Danny soon came into the room, finishing putting on his shirt.

“Ready to hit the town?” asked the halfa boy with a smile.

-:-

Looking up at the building before him, Danny could safely say that he was excited.

“You look like a kid on Christmas morning, Baby-Pop,” teased Ember.

Danny rolled his eyes, but didn’t lose his smile. “What can I say? Astronomy is my favorite subject. I’m pretty sure I mentioned that I want to be an astronaut one day.”

“Yes you did and I have no doubt that you will,” replied the fiery girl with a smirk as she looked back at the Griffith Observatory. “Although I thought Amity Park had an observatory of its own.”

“It does. It’s actually modeled after the Griffith Observatory, so I’ve always wanted to come here to see the real one,” explained Danny. “I’m just glad we came when it finally opened to the public again.”

“Wait, this place has been closed down to the public?” questioned Ember.

“They closed it to the public back in 2002 for some remodeling and expansion and it wasn’t until late 2006 that it was finished and reopened.”

“Well aren’t you lucky,” replied the rock diva with a teasing giggle.

“Best part is that admission is free,” stated Danny with a grin. Seeing the surprised look on Ember’s face, he explained. “The observatory’s namesake and benefactor, Griffith J. Griffith, left in his will that he wanted admission to be free because he wanted astronomy to be accessible to the public.”

“I’m guessing they get money through donations then.”

“Yup. Now let’s on inside before Danielle becomes even more impatient,” said the older halfa as he glanced at the little one, who was fidgeting at having to wait.

The trio headed on inside and started to check out the various exhibits; the Wilder Hall of the Eye, the Ahmanson Hall of the Sky, the W.M. Keck Foundation Central Rotunda, the Cosmic Connection, the Gunther Depths of Space Hall, and the Edge of Space Mezzanine. Ember was surprised that she actually found this stuff interesting and was further surprised that Mini-Pop was paying attention.

“Danny! They have a lightning machine!” said Danielle in whispered awe as she watched the device before them send out arcs of electricity.

Danny let out a laugh. “That’s actually a Tesla coil, Danielle. It was invented by Nikola Tesla, who is known as the father of modern electricity.”

“I thought that was Thomas Edison?” questioned Ember, looking confused.

The raven-haired boy grimaced. “It’s complicated. Edison wanted the world to use direct current, but it was clear that Tesla’s alternating current was more effective, which is why homes and businesses use it to this day. Not to say Edison hadn’t contributed to the world. He is the reason why we have light bulbs, movie cameras, and record players after all.”

“I feel like Technus would really get along with those two.”

“Maybe with Edison since both of them are ego maniacs,” replied Danny. “Edison absolutely HATED Tesla since Tesla was just a better scientist and inventor.”

“…That’s actually kind of pathetic.”

“You have no idea. Anyway, let’s head to the café for lunch before heading out to the Hollywood district.”

At the mention of food, Danielle quickly agreed, but Danny had to grab her by her hoodie to keep her from running on ahead and getting lost. Too bad the small group wouldn’t be getting any lunch as when they got closer to the café, blue mist escaped the mouths of the Phantom duo and screams of terror could be heard.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Ember, already annoyed with whoever was here to cause them trouble.

Without wasting time, Danny transformed and flew to the café with Ember and Danielle right behind him. Upon ghosting through the doors, they had to stop when they saw what they would be dealing with.

It was a large, green, octopus-like alien with a hooked beak and a glass dome on its head that showed off its brain.

“SKREEEEEEEE!”

“Cool,” stated Danielle in awe.

“No, not cool!” snapped Ember, as she noticed some humans cowering in fear. “What the hell is this thing?!”

“Cut, cut, cut!” called out a new voice.

The trio looked over to the other side of the room to find a short ghost, maybe the same height as Danielle, dressed up as a director.

“Okay, who are you?” demanded Danny, getting on guard.

“I am the great director Orson DeMille and you three are getting in the way of filming!” exclaimed the diminutive ghost.

Danny and Ember stared at him with blank looks while Danielle was just confused. Ember then turned to Danny.

“You ever heard of this guy, Baby-Pop?”

“Nope. You?”

“Nuh uh.”

Orson could feel his eye twitch in annoyance. Damn youth of today. As much as he wanted to put these brats in their place, he needed to stick with the plan.

“Anyway!” yelled out Orson, regaining their attention. “Time to resume filming! In this scene, the alien has taken over the observatory and the heroine must stop it!”

The two teens glanced at each other and before they say anything the “heroine” made her grand entrance.

“I’m ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille!” exclaimed the ghostly woman, soaking up the attention.

“…The hell?” questioned Ember.

“Everyone! I’d like to introduce the star of this film; Miss Gloria Desmond!” exclaimed Orson. “Now, Miss Desmond, in this scene the alien creature has taken the humans hostage and it’s up to you to save them.”

“Yes, yes, I know what to do,” replied Gloria in a flippant tone. She then turned to Orson with a glare. “Just make sure the camera is on me! Got it?!”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” squeaked out Orson before turning on the camera. “And action!”

The alien let out another screech as it made its way to the screaming humans. Gloria just stood by, looking at her nails while she waited for her cue. Luckily there was a REAL hero in the house at the moment.

“Not going to happen!” shouted Danny as he flew towards the alien, shocking Gloria.

Danny got in front of the alien and blasted it back with an ecto blast before going after it, gaining cheers from the humans. Watching this, Gloria grit her teeth in anger. She reached up and grabbed Orson by the front of his shirt and pulled him down to stare in the eye.

“Orson, who the hell is that?” demanded the actress with a hiss as she glared at the director ghost.

Shaking in fear, Orson hastily answered. “I th-think th-that’s Danny Phantom. You know, the ghost boy who saved the planet?”

Gloria scowled at hearing this. “Why was I not told about him being here?!”

“I didn’t know he would be here!”

A growl came from Gloria’s throat. It was bad enough that little rock star wannabe was trying to steal her spotlight, but now this halfa freak as well?! Not on her watch!

With Danny, he was still blasting at the alien and dodging tentacles, allowing the humans to escape from harm.

“Ember! Batter up!” shouted out Danny as he blasted the alien and sent it flying.

“Gladly,” replied the rock diva as she held her guitar like a baseball bat as the alien came closer.

With a mighty swing, the fiery girl hit the alien dead on, but instead of sending the alien back towards Danny there was a loud crunch sound as the alien broke in half, revealing the gears and mechanics inside.

“It was an animatronic?” questioned the halfa boy, surprised by this reveal.

“Those dipsticks must have possessed it for whatever they’ve got cooking up,” replied Ember, looking at the pile of scrap with a glare.

“All the more reason to stop th-and they’re gone,” stated Danny, going into a deadpan tone when he turned around and noticed that Gloria and Orson had escaped.

Ember grimaced at this. “Just great.”

While Danny and Ember thought of where the two bad ghosts could have gone, Danielle’s mind was elsewhere.

“That was so awesome how you smashed that alien, Ember! I bet you could be a great baseball player with the way you swing your guitar,” squeaked out the little one. “You could probably even play for the Dodgers and actually help them win a game for once!”

The two teens blinked in confusion before looking back at Danielle.

“Danielle? How exactly do you even know about the Dodgers?” questioned Danny.

“Well…I might have snuck in to watch some games before just to see what all the fuss was about,” explained Danielle. Then she got excited. “Ooh! They also have this thing called a Dodger Dog and they’re really tasty!”

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, while Ember looked at the ghostling with a blank look.

“We’re going to have a long talk about this, Danielle,” stated Danny in a no-nonsense tone, causing his little clone to pout. “In the meantime, let me just clean up this mess and then we can head to the next landmark.”

-:-

From Griffith Observatory the ghostly trio hiked up towards the nearby Hollywood Sign. On the way, Danny was searching on his phone for any information on Gloria or Orson.

“Find anything, Baby-Pop?”

“Nothing,” replied Danny with a sigh as he looked up to his companion. “There doesn’t seem to be anything on these two, not even a Wikipedia page. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Internet, it’s that if something or someone doesn’t have a Wikipedia page then they’re not seen as important.”

“Oh,” was all Ember said as she glanced at Danny’s phone. “D-Do I have a Wiki-thingy page?”

Danny’s mouth twitched into a smile as he made a few taps on his phone before he handed it to Ember. He couldn’t help but love the way her eyes lit up in happiness when she saw her Wiki page.

“So what’s the deal with this sign we’re going to go see?” questioned Danielle as she looked up at the large letters on the hill.

“The sign was originally used as advertisement for real estate, but it became so recognized that it was left up and became a symbol of Los Angeles,” explained Danny.

“And people come up here just to look at it?”

“It’s one of those things you should do at least once, Mini-Pop.”

As they drew closer to the sign, Danielle kept asking questions with Danny and Ember answering as best as they could. Unfortunately, Danny’s ghost sense went off, stopping all conversation.

“Again?” demanded Danny going into ghost mode and then on guard. Ember and Danielle did the same, thinking Gloria and Orson were about to strike.

“Welcome to Hollywood!”

The three blinked in confusion at the friendly tone of the new voice. Looking over at the sign, they found a group of surprisingly friendly looking ghosts.

“…Wait, what?” wondered Danny.

“Wow, it’s not often we get other ghosts as tourists!” exclaimed the male ghost with a smile. “So what brings you kids to Hollywood?”

Danny and the girls were still trying to comprehend what exactly was going on right now.

“…You know, I had heard rumors that the Hollywood Sign was haunted. This was not what I was expecting,” stated Danny.

Ember turned to the white-haired boy with a narrowed look. “You knew this place was haunted and you still wanted to come?”

“If I remember correctly, YOU are the one who wanted to explore Hollywood,” replied Danny, causing Ember to pout.

“Who are you guys?” asked Danielle, looking up at the older ghost.

“We’re the movie stars of the past!” answered the man. “We get together up here from time to time to remember the good times.”

“Really? Wait, does that mean you would know…what were their names again?”

“You really need to start paying more attention, Mini-Pop,” said Ember with a sigh as she patted the little one on the head.

“Oh? Are you looking for someone?” asked the man with a look of curiosity.

Danny rubbed the back of his head. He stayed on guard because he wasn’t sure how these ghosts would react. “Sort of. Do you happen to know Gloria Desmond and Orson DeMille?”

The group of celluloid heroes grimaced at the mention of those names. “We wish we didn’t.”

“Huh?”

“They’re annoyances!” cried out a female ghost.

“That’s enough, Bette.”

“You know it’s true, Rudolph!”

Rudolph pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration before looking back at the kids. “Basically Gloria has a big ego. She is not talented as an actress, but thinks she’s the greatest actress of all time and will berate anyone who tries to steal her spotlight. As for Orson DeMille, he is a wannabe director who will do anything Gloria tells him to.”

“That still doesn’t explain why they attacked the observatory,” said Danny.

“If Gloria did it then it was probably either for attention or she felt threatened by someone,” explained the ghostly movie star.

“Well whatever her reason was doesn’t change the fact that she’s insane,” added Ember with a frown.

“Here, here!” exclaimed the party of ghosts, each holding up a drink.

“She needs to be stopped,” stated Danny, a look of determination on his face. “Her ego put people in danger and I’m not going to stand around and let her continue doing that!”

“If that’s the case, I wish you luck, young man,” said Rudolph. “She’s been a pain in our sides for decades. We would have dealt with her ourselves, but she just would have come right back.”

“Don’t worry, sir. We’ll put a stop to her,” replied the halfa hero.

Saying their goodbyes, the ghostly trio left the Hollywood Sign and headed back to their hotel to try and come up with a plan to stop Gloria.

“Of course we need to find her first,” said Ember. She then turned to Danny, who was in thought. “Any ideas yet, Baby-Pop?”

“Not yet. I’m still trying to figure out why she attacked the observatory,” replied Danny. “Rudolph said that she did because she either wanted attention or because she felt threatened…and I get the feeling it was latter.”

“How come, Danny?” questioned Danielle, looking confused.

“It’s simple. Given her personality, if she wanted attention she would have gone somewhere else where there would be a LOT more people,” explained the raven-haired boy. “That and it’s obvious that she probably doesn’t know what observatory is.”

Ember let out a few laughs at that before getting serious again. “So if she did it because she was threatened, what was she threatened by?”

Danny wished he had an answer, but it’s not like it would just smack him right in the face.

Something then suddenly smacked Danny right in the face.

“Gah!” yelped Danny as he snatched whatever it was off his face. He glared at it for a moment before he got a better look at the offending piece of paper. “Huh?”

“Hey, it’s one of my posters,” stated Ember, her eyes lighting up.

“Wait, what?” questioned the halfa, turning to the fiery girl.

“Yeah, I had hired some ghosts to spread these around the city before we arrived as a way to advertise my upcoming concert,” explained Ember, looking proud of herself.

Danny had a blank look on his face as he looked at Ember and then at the poster. It didn’t take long for a connection was made.

“So that’s why Gloria attacked the observatory.”

“…Huh? What are you talking about, Baby-Pop?”

He looked over towards his friend. “I think Gloria attacked because of you, Ember.”

“Wait, you’re saying that it’s my fault?!” questioned the rock diva, upset that Baby-Pop would even think that.

“Not like that!” replied Danny, trying to calm her down. “What I’m saying is that since you’ve been advertising your concert, Gloria saw that as you trying to steal the spotlight from her. At first I thought I might have been the reason, considering I’m world famous and I can never catch a break, but NO ONE knows I’m here in Los Angeles. That just leaves you, Ember.”

Upon hearing this, Danielle grew worried. “Does that mean Ember is in danger?”

The older halfa let out a snort. “There’s a better chance of Skulker becoming a better hunter than Ember being in danger from Gloria.”

A slight grin appeared on Ember’s face, not only because of the crack towards the lousy hunter, but because her Baby-Pop had so much faith in her not to be taken down by what was essentially a wannabe A-Lister.

“So then how are going to deal with the crazy lady and her mook?” questioned the ghostling.

“Easy,” started Danny with a devious grin. “We bring her to us.”

-:-

The Hollywood Bowl, the best place to go for concerts in Los Angeles and the place Ember had planned to hold hers. She and the Phantom Duo were currently at the amphitheater setting up for her concert later that night.

“You sure this will work, Baby-Pop?” asked Ember as she tuned her guitar. She watched as he moved one of the speakers into place.

“If Gloria’s as egotistical as we think she is, she won’t hesitate to try and stop your concert,” replied Danny, looking back at her.

The rock diva scowled at the thought of someone trying to disrupt her concerts. Granted, the boy before her did just that during their first meeting, but that was when she was an angry, “evil” ghost. She’s on the straight and narrow now and didn’t deserve to have her music blocked, damn it!

“Like you said, Danny, the crazy lady won’t be able to beat Ember,” stated Danielle as she moved around some of the smaller objects on stage. “The concert will go on!”

A grin appeared on Ember’s face as she finished up tuning her guitar. Leave it to Mini-Pop to be optimistic.

“Just be ready,” said the older halfa. “Gloria’s going to be here any minute.”

“What makes you say that, Baby-Pop?” questioned Ember, confused.

“Call it a hunch,” he replied in a deadpan tone as his ghost sense went off.

True to his words, Gloria and Orson flew into view and Gloria was clearly not happy.

“I don’t know where you get off thinking you can steal my spotlight, you little hussy, but I’ll be damned if I allow it!” exclaimed Gloria as she glared down at Ember.

The rock diva glared right back as her hair flared up a bit at being called a hussy.

“Listen up, you washed out old hag! You’re out of your mind if you think you’re going to stop MY music!” retorted Ember, brandishing her guitar like an axe.

Gloria let out a growl before whipping around to glare at Orson. “Well?! What are you waiting for?!”

“M-My apologies, Miss Desmond!” stuttered out the diminutive director.

With a snap of his fingers, multiple animatronic aliens appeared, ready to attack the small group. Seeing Gloria’s little army, Danny could only smirk.

“I had a feeling she’d pull something like this,” he stated. He then turned to his little clone. “Congratulations, Danielle. You have the important task in this fight.”

“Huh? Wait, you want me to fight those things?!” she questioned, wondering if Danny hit his head. She was good, but even she knew she’d be in over her head fighting all of those ghost robots.

“No, I’ll be taking care of the animatronics,” said Danny as he created multiple doppelgangers of himself, surprising Gloria and Orson. “You on the other hand get to take on shorty.”

“Now THAT I can do,” replied the ghostling as she looked towards Orson with a look that promised pain, causing him to shake in slight fear.

The Phantom Duo shot off, Danny and his doubles blasting the animatronics while Danielle chased after Orson.

“That just leaves you and me, you egotistical bitch,” hissed out Ember as she glared at Gloria.

“I will not let you take what is mine!” yelled out Gloria, glaring right back at the younger female.

The ghostly actress fired off ecto shot after ecto shot at Ember, who easily dodged the attacks as she drew closer to her target. When she was close enough she swung her guitar with all her might, hitting Gloria and sending her crashing into the earth below.

“And there’s more where that came from!” shouted Ember.

There’s an old saying of “Hell have no fury like a woman scorned” and right now Gloria’s fury was at its peak. Glowing red eyes filled with hatred honed in on Ember as their owner let out a feral screech. She then shot out an ecto blast that was too fast for Ember to dodge and she had to take the brunt of it.

“Gah!” screamed out Ember as she fell to the ground.

“You stupid brat! Know your place!” screeched Gloria, glaring down at the fiery girl. “You are beneath me! You are nothing!”

Using her ghostly abilities, Gloria manipulated the animatronics that Danny was fighting, causing them to go into overdrive.

“What the…?” questioned the halfa in shock. His doubles were soon destroyed and the animatronics captured him in their tentacles. “Damn it!”

“Danny!” called out Danielle, taking her eyes off of Orson.

“Big mistake, little girl,” laughed the director ghost as he summoned film reels and wrapped the little one in celluloid.

“Hey! Let go!” yelled Danielle as she struggled against her bindings.

“B-Baby-Pop…M-Mini-Pop…” stuttered out Ember as she struggled to get up.

She glared up at Gloria, who continued to glare back down at her.

“You insolent little girl,” hissed out the ghostly actress. “How dare you even think to try and take MY fame away! You think that holding a concert would gain you fans? You’re nothing more than an ugly, untalented hack that belongs under my shoes! You are a nobody and always will be!”

Memories of when she was alive assaulted Ember’s mind. Memories of those who always made fun of her because of her love of rock music. Memories of being called a loser every day and being told that she would never amount to anything because she would claim to be a world famous rock star. Memories…of parents who were disappointed and embarrassed at having a daughter who loved the “Devil’s music” and didn’t care that she was dead.

Tears threatened to fall, but she would not allow it, not in front of this bitch. Ember wanted nothing more than to put this woman in her place, but she felt powerless. That was until…

“Would you just shut up?!” shouted Danny, glaring at Gloria and catching everyone’s attention. “If anyone here is an untalented hack, it’s you!”

Gloria bristled in anger. “What did you say?”

“I said YOU are the untalented hack!” repeated the halfa, continuing his tirade as he struggled to free himself. “NO ONE knows who the hell you are because you’re movies were so bad and you couldn’t act your way out of paper bag, but EVERYONE knows who Ember is because her music is some of the best out there! In the end, Ember will be the one everyone remembers while you will be the forgotten one.

And you know what, just because it’s also true, Ember’s way more beautiful than you’ll ever be!”

All of the negative feelings and the all of the bad memories vanished thanks to Danny’s words. The tears finally fell, but they weren’t of sadness. Ember actually felt happy at that moment as she was reminded that she had someone who actually cared about her and loved her music because he genuinely enjoyed it.

Baby-Pop had even called her beautiful, being the first to ever call her as such.

With a struggle, Ember used her guitar to prop herself to a standing position. She glared at Gloria’s back as the washed up wannabe shook in rage.

“Y-You insolent, rude, brat! How dare you speak to me that way?!” screeched Gloria, her angry red eyes focused solely on Danny. “I am the greatest actress who ever lived!”

“You’re just full of hot air,” stated Ember, bringing her arm down to strike a cord.

Caught off guard by the sudden sound, Gloria was punched in the face by a green ecto fist, sending her flying towards Orson and the animatronics.

“Gah!” cried out Orson as Gloria crashed into him. In doing so, this released his hold on Danielle, who then freed Danny.

“You did it, Ember!” squeaked out the ghostling, happy that Gloria was beaten.

“We’re not done yet, Mini-Pop,” replied the rock diva, readying her guitar as the animatronics and Gloria came closer.

“I will not let you win!” shouted the disheveled woman.

That was when she broke out into a guitar solo. A barrage of ecto fists flew towards their targets, pummeling the animatronics into scrap and knocking the villainess ghost into submission. Orson could only look on in shock as his boss was soundly beaten.

At this point, Danny pulled out the thermos and held it out to Ember.

“I think you’ve earned this, Ember.”

Without saying a word, Ember pointed the thermos towards Gloria and Orson and pressed the button.

“H-Hey! Wh-What’s going on?!” demanded Orson as he and Gloria started to get sucked up. “This isn’t right!”

Once they were trapped inside the thermos, Ember capped it to prevent their escape.

“Yeah! That’s what they get for messing with us!” exclaimed Danielle with a smirk.

Danny merely rolled his eyes at his little clone before turning back to Ember, seeing her glare at the thermos.

“You did great, Ember,” he said in a soft tone as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close.

A slight blush appeared on her face, but that didn’t stop her from snuggling closer to the boy. “Thanks, Baby-Pop. For everything.”

A sudden flash of light caught their attention and standing before them were Walker and Bullet with a prison portal right behind them.

“You got our new prisoners, punk?” questioned Walker, narrowing his eyes on the teens.

Ember merely raised the thermos and gave it a few shakes. “Right here. You might want to have some earplugs on hand when you get back though.”

The warden was confused at first, but when Ember released the contents of the thermos it all became clear.

“Wh-What happened?” questioned Gloria, holding her head. Looking up, she made eye contact with Walker, whom she narrowed her eyes at. “Who are you and why are you looking at me like that? Do you know who I am?!”

Orson, who was already in Bullet’s grasp, could only facepalm. “That’s Walker, Miss Desmond. He’s the warden of the Ghost Zone Prison.”

“If that’s the case, arrest these brats for getting in my way!” demanded Gloria as she pointed at Danny and Ember.

“…She’s got guts for trying to order you around, Walker. I’ll give her that much,” said Bullet with a smirk, while everyone else stared at Gloria with a blank look.

A smile that promised pain made its way onto Walker’s face. He was going to enjoy breaking this one.

“It seems you just broke one of my biggest rules, Desmond,” stated Walker as he placed some cuffs on the shocked Gloria’s wrists. “NO ONE orders me around.”

“Except for Clockwork,” added Danny, smirking when Walker glared at him. Bullet had to hold back the chuckle that was building up.

“W-Wait! Y-You can’t arrest me!” shouted Gloria as Walker started to drag her towards the portal. “I’m Gloria Desmond! I can’t go to prison! Horizontal stripes make me look fat!”

“Oh would you just shut up!” snapped Orson just as the portal closed.

The ghostly trio each let out a sigh of relief now that they no longer had to deal with egotistical actresses.

“So now what?” asked Danielle, looking up at her current guardians.

“Well first we need to clear out the scrap metal,” said Danny, pointing towards the destroyed animatronic aliens. “After that we can finish setting up for Ember’s concert.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get to cleaning!” exclaimed the little one, rushing over to the pile of scrap.

The teens could only laugh at her enthusiasm.

-:-

Ember’s Los Angeles concert was a huge success, something that didn’t surprise Danny. He knew she would rock the Hollywood Bowl and the cheering fans were proof of that.

Right now though, it was late at night, the concert long over, and the small group was back at their hotel, having decided to leave for their next destination in the morning. With Danielle in bed sleeping, this gave Ember a chance to talk with Danny about what had happened earlier that day.

“What’s up, Ember?” asked the halfa boy when he noticed how Ember looked nervous.

She fidgeted a bit before looking him in the eye. “You called me beautiful.”

It was Danny’s turn to be nervous as his eyes widened a bit and he turned away with a slight blush. “Y-Yeah, I guess I did.”

“…Did you mean it?”

“Of course I did, Ember!” stated Danny, snapping back to look at her. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t!”

Her core pulsed rapidly in her chest. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she needed to know.

“Danny…what am I to you?”

Now Danny knew people saw him as dense when it came to the opposite sex, but he wasn’t dense enough to see the look in Ember’s eyes. Truth be told, he had grown close to the fiery girl since the beginning of summer vacation and he enjoyed being around her. This was surprising to him considering this girl was at one point his enemy and one of his more deadly ones, but times change and they were now friends…but he wouldn’t mind if they were more than that. He just needed to tell her.

“To me, you are one of my best friends. To me, you are someone I see as my equal. To me, you are one of the strongest women I’ve ever met, both in a fight and through your convictions, as you never back down from someone who challenges your dream. To me…you are someone I want to be more than friends with and I’d hope that you’d feel the same.”

It felt as if her core wanted to jump right out of her chest with how fast it was pulsing. Baby-Pop, HER Baby-Pop, felt the same way! She started to shake slightly as her eyes started to water.

“B-Baby-Pop…”

“W-Wait, E-Ember! Why are you crying?! Did I say something wrong?!” questioned Danny, frantically trying to figure out what he did.

The next thing he knew was that he was glomped by the ghost girl before him.

“You dipstick,” said Ember with a giggle as she nuzzled against his neck and shoulder. “I’m just so happy right now!”

“So you do feel the same way?” asked the confused boy as he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close.

Another giggle came from Ember. “Took you long enough, Baby-Pop~”

Danny had a slight pout on his face, causing Ember to giggle for a third time. He then looked at her, a question on his mind. “If I may ask, h-how long have you felt this way about me?”

A blush appeared on Ember’s face. “Truthfully? Since you defeated Pariah Dark.”

“Th-That long ago?!” questioned Danny, surprised that she’s been crushing on him for so long. Maybe he really WAS dense.

“Well we were still enemies at the time, Baby-Pop,” replied Ember, rolling her eyes. She then started to lead him to where their bed was. “Come on, we can talk more about this in the morning.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Danny as he followed her. “At some point we’re going to have to figure out how to break this to our friends.”

“We’ll worry about that later. Right now, I just want to snuggle with my new boyfriend.”

Danny could only grin as he entered the room with his new girlfriend. She was right; they could worry about that later…

…At least until the morning when the ghostling would catch him and Ember making out in the kitchen.

LOS ANGELES END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I think this chapter ended up longer than expected, but it does have the moment everyone was waiting for. Danny and Ember were originally supposed to get together in a different city later on, but I decided for it to happen here and something else to happen in the other city.**
> 
> **Fun Fact: There are eighteen fictional characters with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. These include; Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Snow White, Woody Woodpecker, Big Bird, The Simpsons, Rugrats, Kermit the Frog, Donald Duck, Godzilla, Winnie the Pooh, The Munchkins, Shrek, Tinker Bell, The Muppets, Snoopy, Minnie Mouse, and Alvin & the Chipmunks.**
> 
> **As a reminder, Los Angeles was not part of the original MHA version, so no recap again.**


	19. Amity Interlude 6

Jazz grimaced as she walked down the sidewalk and to the park. As to why she was unhappy at the moment…

“Why am I the one who has to walk Cujo?” questioned the eldest Fenton child as she glared down at the happy ghost puppy on the other end of the leash. “He’s Danny’s dog!”

“Well your folks were busy and Danny’s not here. So that just leaves you, I guess,” replied Tucker with a shrug.

A groan escaped from Jazz while Sam and Valerie rolled their eyes.

“Can we not talk about dogs right now?” asked Johnny, who had a grimace of his own.

The human teens each raised an eyebrow in question before Sam turned to Kitty. “What’s with him?”

Kitty merely rolled her eyes. “Oh he’s just upset because he hasn’t got any sleep.”

“Ever since we learned about where Cujo came from, Kitty’s had me searching the Ghost Zone for the rest of the Axion guard dogs,” explained the biker ghost with a frown.

“I want to give those puppies a REAL home, Johnny,” stated Kitty as she gave her boyfriend a look.

“But I need sleep!”

As the ghost couple continued to argue, the human teens could only let out sighs.

“I still can’t believe these two are like this,” stated Valerie, shaking her head.

“Why do you think Danny is friends with them? Compared to a lot of the other ghosts we’ve dealt with, Kitty and Johnny are harmless,” replied Tucker with a smirk.

“If only some of the other ghosts were like that,” added Sam as she thought of the likes of Skulker, Technus, and Ember.

It was then that Cujo’s ears perked up, the puppy having sensed something.

“Arf, arf!” barked Cujo as he started to run further into the park. This of course meant he pulled Jazz with him since she was still holding onto his leash.

“Wah! Cujo! Slow down!” cried out Jazz, barely able to keep up.

The others quickly followed to make sure Jazz didn’t get hurt. Luckily they didn’t have to go to far as Cujo led the group to the park’s fountain.

“Why did Cujo bring us here?” questioned Kitty, looking around.

Sam and Tucker knew. They’ve had to deal with this fountain multiple times before. Before they could warn the others though, a puff of smoke erupted before them and when it cleared it revealed a certain wish granting genie ghost.

When the genie opened her eyes and saw who was near her fountain, she frowned.

“Oh, it’s you. What do you children want?” questioned Desiree, crossing her arms under her large bust.

Sam glared at the woman. “We didn’t want anything from you, but if you’re here then that must mean you’re causing trouble like always.”

“Or, you know, granting wishes with side effects,” added Tucker, waving his hand in a “so-so” motion.

Desiree looked at her nails, not bothering to take these children seriously. “Uh-huh. If that’s all you have to say, then leave. There are others who I’m sure would like to make a wish.”

The Goth girl could feel her eye twitch in anger at being dismissed like that. “You want to grant a wish? Then grant this! I wish you were back in the Ghost Zone!”

A mixture of pride and smugness filled Sam at the moment, mainly because she was able to defeat one of the more troublesome ghosts all on her own and in record time. Except…

“Um, Sam?”

“What is it, Tucker?”

“There seems to be a problem.”

When Sam opened her eyes, they widened in shock when she saw that Desiree was still there, looking at her with a bored look.

“Wh-What? But how?!”

“I’m confused. What was supposed to happen?” questioned Valerie.

“I’m actually just as confused,” said Kitty. “Desiree here is supposed to grant ANY wish, no matter what, and can’t refuse a wish. So how were you able to refuse Sam’s wish, Desi?”

A look of content replaced Desiree’s bored look. “I have Daniel to thank for that.”

**FLASHBACK**

_Desiree floated around the fountain, waiting for some unsuspecting fool to come and make a wish. Unfortunately for her, a certain phantom decided to make his appearance._

_“Still trying to get in some wish fulfillment, Desiree?”_

_And there goes what little good mood she had left. She glared up at the white-haired boy, who looked back at her with a smirk._

_“Leave, child. I have no time to deal with you.”_

_“Now is that any way to treat someone who wants to make a wish,” replied Danny, causing Desiree to tense up._

_“I said leave!” snapped the genie, her glare becoming fiercer. She had an idea what his wish would be and she would NOT go back to the Ghost Zone. “I will NOT grant your wish!”_

_“Last time I check, you don’t have a choice in that matter,” stated the halfa. He saw how Desiree clenched her teeth in frustration. “Besides, this is a wish I should have made a long time ago.”_

_Desiree wanted nothing more than to end Phantom’s existence. “Just get it over with!”_

_“Alright then. Desiree, I wish you were no longer cursed to grant EVERY wish and could CHOOSE which wishes to grant.”_

_Red eyes widened in surprise as Desiree’s body glowed with a bright light. When the light faded, she looked herself over before looking back at Danny._

_“I guess we now test to see if it worked,” said the boy as he pulled out the familiar thermos, making Desiree go tense again. “I wish you’d get into the thermos!”_

_Desiree flinched back, clenching her eyes shut. When she didn’t feel the usual “urge” that came when someone made a wish, her eyes snapped opened to find that she was in the same spot she was with Phantom still floating across from her._

_She watched as he rubbed the back of his head in nervousness. “Like I said, I should have made that wish a long time ago, but when you’re fourteen and still learning how to be a hero you tend to overlook things. The point is you shouldn’t have to be a prisoner to your own powers.”_

_She could feel herself tremble and her vision get blurry due the oncoming tears. She then shot over to where Phantom was and brought him into an embrace._

_“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” repeated Desiree as she cried into his shoulder._

_“You’re welcome, Desiree,” he replied as he rubbed her back in comfort._

**FLASHBACK END**

The humans and Johnny couldn’t believe what they just heard, if their dropped jaws were any indication. Kitty on the other hand was bouncing in happiness.

“Aww! That was so sweet of Danny!” squeaked out the biker chick, her eyes sparkling.

“Yeah, real…sweet,” said Sam through clenched teeth. She was angry because Danny never mentioned this and jealous because this woman HUGGED Danny!

“Why does Danny have all the luck?” questioned Tucker, with Johnny nodding in agreement. This earned them glares from Sam, Valerie, and Kitty, while Jazz rolled her eyes.

Jazz turned back to Desiree. “So does that mean you’re not an enemy of my little brother anymore?”

“Correct, child,” replied Desiree with a smile, ignoring the pout she got from Jazz. “I owe everything to Daniel for freeing from my curse. Speaking of Daniel, I should visit him soon and see if he’s doing well. I haven’t seen him flying around like he usually does.”

“Danny’s not here. He went on vacation recently to get away from the vultures,” said Kitty, making it her turn to get glares from Sam and Valerie.

Desiree frowned at this. “I see. Daniel has told me before how those people have been bothering him. I offered to get rid of them for him, but he declined saying that he didn’t want to take advantage of my magic to solve his problems.”

“Sounds like something Danny would say,” replied Jazz, proud of her little brother.

“Out of curiosity, do you happen to know where Daniel is at the moment?” asked the genie.

Before Sam could snap and tell her no, Tucker’s phone went off.

“Now we do,” said the tech geek as he opened his phone. Everyone gathered around as he opened the message from Danny.

**Still enjoying my vacation and I recently even got to walk amongst the stars.**

The set of photos that he had sent showcased the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood Sign, and the Hollywood Bowl.

“Aw man! He went to Los Angeles?!” exclaimed Johnny. “Do you know how many hotties are there?!”

This of course earned him a punch to the arm and a glare from Kitty.

“Danny’s not a horn dog like you are!” hissed out the biker chick, while her boyfriend rubbed his sore arm. “He’s actually interested in the history and landmarks!”

“This Los Angeles looks quite nice,” said Desiree as she looked over the photos.

“You should see some of the other places Danny has been to so far,” stated Jazz, peaking the genie’s curiosity.

Kitty gave Johnny one last glare before turning to Desiree. “But before that, I have a favor to ask, Desi!”

“…That all depends on what that favor is, Kitty,” replied the genie, glancing at the younger woman.

The biker chick bent down to pick up the little green fuzzball of the group and showed him to Desiree.

“This little cutie is Cujo! He used to be a guard dog at Axion Labs along with a bunch of other dogs before they were unnecessarily put down,” explained Kitty as Cujo panted and wagged his tail happily.

“And you want me to bring the ghosts of the other dogs here, is that correct?” asked Desiree, having a feeling that was where this was leading.

“Yes, please!” beamed the green-haired girl. The others glanced at each other, wondering if this was a bad idea.

Desiree merely shook her head in amusement. “You know the words that must be spoken.”

“I wish the ghosts of the Axion Labs guard dogs were here right now so I can give them a proper home!”

“So you have wished it, so it shall be!” said Desiree as she worked her magic.

In a puff of smoke, a dozen ghosts dogs had appeared, with all of them wearing Axion Labs dog tag. Upon seeing the other dogs, Cujo wanted down, to which Kitty complied. She couldn’t help but giggle when Cujo started to play with the other puppies.

“Aww! He’s happy to see his family again!” squeaked out Kitty, her eyes sparkling at the sight.

“Uh, Kitten? Where exactly were you planning on keeping all of them?” asked Johnny, knowing he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“With us, of course. I did say I was going to give them a proper home.”

“But I thought you meant you were going to find people to adopt them!”

“Oh shush, Johnny. We have more than enough room to keep Cujo’s family. This way, Cujo can always come over for play dates!”

Johnny could only groan as Kitty led the dogs and puppies towards Fenton Works where the Ghost Portal was. The others, Desiree included, followed after with the genie wanting to learn more about the places Danny had visited.

Jazz just hoped her parents wouldn’t freak when they come back with a few more ghost than they left with.

INTERLUDE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **When I learned that Desiree is now labeled as a FORMER enemy of Danny’s, I had to put her in the story at some point. I’ll probably have her appear in other DP stories as well because of this.**
> 
> **And since I keep forgetting, I mentioned in an earlier AN that the city chapters are named after songs, so for those who ARE curious here’s the soundtrack so far…**
> 
> **“New York Groove” (3:03) – Ace Frehley  
>  “Turning Japanese” (3:45) – The Vapors  
> “The Paris Match” (3:47) – The Style Council  
> “London Calling” (3:20) – The Clash  
> “Vancouver Shakedown” (4:01) – Nazareth  
> “L.A. Woman” (7:51) – The Doors**


	20. Born To Die In Berlin Act 1

Danny was on cloud nine right now as the tour bus was making its way to the next city. He was in a relationship with a beautiful rock star and everything was right in the world.

Well…almost everything.

The boy pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as the ghostling gave him and Ember a pouty glare, showing that she was upset with them.

“That’s enough, Danielle,” said Danny, giving her an admonishing look. This only caused the little one to let out a huff.

“I caught you and Ember making kissy face…again!”

It had been a few days since Danny and Ember had become boyfriend and girlfriend and Danielle had unfortunately walked in on them making out multiple times since. She was frankly getting tired of the PDA.

“Mini-Pop, this is just something boyfriends and girlfriends do,” explained Ember, only for Danielle to narrow her eyes at the rock diva. “You’ll understand when you’re older and get a boyfriend of your own.”

“Over my full dead body that’ll happen!” inputted Danny, his overprotective streak kicking in. The thought of Danielle getting a boyfriend terrified him.

Ember just rolled her eyes as turned back to Danielle. “Look, Mini-Pop, you want Danny to be happy, right?”

“Of course I do,” replied Danielle with a frown. “But what does that have to do with what you two have been doing?”

“We kiss like that because we love each other and make each other happy,” explained Ember with a small smile, glancing towards her Baby-Pop, who in turn blushed slightly as he returned the smile.

“Yeah, well, I still don’t like it!” exclaimed Danielle before going over to where her plushies were, holding her gorilla plushy close as she pouted.

Ember could only let out a sigh. She then felt something grab her hand, making her turn to her Baby-Pop, who was giving her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry too much about it, Ember. I’m sure Dani will come around soon,” said the Halfa boy.

“How soon?”

“It depends. Tell me where we’re going next and I can figure out a way to change Dani’s mind.”

Knowing her Baby-Pop, he’d definitely be able to come up with a plan.

-:-

Danielle’s eyes tracked the sugary treat in Danny’s hand as the older Halfa maneuvered it above her head. Ember couldn’t help but giggle, as the ghostling couldn’t take her eyes off the pastry.

“I can’t believe all it takes to calm Mini-Pop down is a paczki,” stated the fiery girl.

“Technically they’re called Berliner Pfannkuchen here, but they’re pretty much the same thing,” replied Danny, moving the Berliner and Dani turning in that direction. “And of course this is all it takes. She somehow inherited Dad’s appetite.”

“I hope she won’t always eat like your old man,” said Ember with a frown.

“Trust me, I’ll make sure she won’t end up exactly like Dad,” said Danny with a sigh. He then decided to quit teasing the little one. “Here you go, Dani. It’s filled with cherry jam, so eat it carefully.”

The ghostling quickly snatched the Berliner and started eating it as the trio made their way further into Berlin, the capital of Germany.

“So where to first, Baby-Pop?” asked Ember as Danny handed her a Berliner of her own. Ooh, chocolate!

“It depends, considering there’s quite a few landmarks worth seeing here,” replied Danny with a shrug. “There’s the Brandenburg Gate and Unter den Linden. Those two we could actually see all at once since they’re connected together. Other places we could go to are the Berlin Victory Column, Schloss Charlottenburg, and the Berlin Wall Memorial.”

“Memorial?” questioned the rock diva, confused.

“Oh that’s right, you wouldn’t have known. They actually tore down the Berlin Wall back in 1989,” explained Danny.

Ember’s eyes widened at that. “Wait, really?”

“Yup,” said the raven-haired boy before giving her a slight grin. “You were hoping to hold your concert on the Wall, weren’t you?”

He only got a blank look in return. “Why would I have my concert on the Berlin Wall?”

Danny blinked in confusion before he facepalmed at his mistake. “Sorry, I forget that you don’t really know about anything pass the 70s. Anyway, David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen both held concerts on the Wall in 1987 and 1988 respectively.”

“Wait, wait. Bowie and Springsteen actually held CONCERTS on the Wall?”

“And David Hasselhoff in 1989.”

“…Hasselhoff? From _The Young and The Restless_?” questioned Ember. When Danny raised an eyebrow, she blushed slightly in embarrassment. “M-My mom used to watch that show.”

The boy could only chuckle, finding his girlfriend’s blush cute. “Come on, let’s head to the first place on the tour.”

-:-

“We’re not going to be attacked once we pass through the gate, are we?”

It was a valid question from the ghostling, considering what happened in Tokyo. Danny just ruffled her hair before answering.

“There’s nothing to be worried over, Danielle,” stated the older Halfa. “If there are any ghosts around, I can’t see them being like Tsujigiri.”

“Good!” said Danielle. She then looked up at the top of the gate. “What’s with the horses?”

“That would be a quadriga. It’s a chariot that’s driven by four horses. The woman riding the chariot is Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory.”

As Danny continued to explain the history to Danielle, Ember could only smile. She never really liked history class back when she was alive and went to school, but listening to Baby-Pop just made it more interesting. Maybe it was because she was in love with him, but she learned a lot more from her Baby-Pop than she ever did in school.

The ghostly trio soon made their way through the gate and onto the Unter den Linden. They took in the sites of the boulevard as they headed towards the Berlin Palace on the other end. About halfway there though, the little one became hungry, so it was decided to get an early lunch. Too bad Danny didn’t seem to like the place Ember picked out…or that she ordered for them.

“We’ll take three bratwurst meals, two pints for me and my man, and a glass of juice for the little one!”

With a smile and a nod, the waitress when to go put in the order. Danny could only give Ember a blank look.

“Ember…”

“Oh don’t be such a sourpuss, Baby-Pop. You’ll like German food,” replied the rock diva with a slight grin, knowing full well that wasn’t the reason her Baby-Pop was upset.

“Ember, we’re sixteen, in a bar, and you just ordered us beer. And Dani’s only twelve!”

“Well good news, Baby-Pop! Sixteen is the drinking age here in Germany!” explained Ember with a smug smirk.

Danny opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it before taking out his phone. He looked up the drinking age of the country and raised an eyebrow when he saw that Ember was right.

“Well I’ll be damned.”

“See, Baby-Pop. There’s nothing to worry about. Besides, human world booze can’t get a ghost drunk.”

“…But I’m only half ghost.”

“…I’ll make sure you don’t drink too much, just in case.”

“Can I have some beer?” asked Danielle, looking at her guardians in curiosity.

“No,” they replied in tandem, before Ember continued. “You’re still too young. Technically you’d have to be at least fourteen to be able to drink and even then you’d need your parents’ permission first.”

Danielle pouted, unhappy that she was being treated like baby. That was when the waitress arrived with their order, placing their dishes and drinks in front of them. Their meals consisted of a link of bratwurst, a helping of potato salad, and a soft pretzel. Danny and Ember also each had a lager, while Danielle had grape juice.

With pint in hand, Ember lifted her glass towards Danny with a smirk on her face. This only made Danny sigh, but it was clear he wasn’t upset or annoyed as he lifted his own glass and clinked it against hers.

“Cheers.”

-:-

Ember couldn’t stop laughing as the trio exited the bar.

“Did you see the looks on the waitress’ face when you finished your beer? You’d think with this being Germany that she’d be used to seeing heavy drinkers!”

“Well I did put away six pints and I’m not even buzzed,” replied Danny. “I’m pretty sure most people would have gotten drunk by that point.”

“So we’ve learned that half ghost aren’t affected by alcohol either,” stated Ember with a grin.

“No, for all we know I just have a much higher tolerance for alcohol than normal humans. I probably would have needed to drink a few more pints before I started feeling the effects.”

Her grin became a bit slyer as she leaned in to whisper in her Baby-Pop’s ear. “How about we test that later tonight once Mini-Pop is asleep?”

A slight blush appeared on Danny’s face. “You know, if it weren’t for the fact that I trust you not to take advantage of me I’d be very afraid right now.”

With a giggle, Ember reached up to place a kiss on Danny’s cheek, causing him to have a love stuck grin appear on his face.

Watching this, Danielle pouted, feeling that she was being ignored. So she tugged on Danny’s shirt to get his attention. “Danny! Where are we going to next?”

“Huh? Oh, I guess we could head over to the Schloss Charlottenburg,” explained the older Halfa. “It’s considered one of the best tourist attractions here in Berlin.”

“Then let’s go already!” exclaimed Danielle as she started walking in one direction, only for Danny to turn her around to walk in the correct direction.

With a giggle, Ember followed after the Phantom duo.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the palace, Danielle eying it in awe. As the trio entered the palace, though, they were unaware of the goings on down in the palace’s mausoleum.

Deep within the crypts, a man scowled as he looked at the graves of the royals.

“Bah! To zink zat I, Baron von Otto, have not been given ze respect I deserve! I am just as important as zese royals! I should have been entombed down here as vell!” exclaimed the man, dressed in World War I fighter pilot garb. He then stroked his bushy moustache. “How vill I rectify zis?”

That was when the Baron decided to head topside, phasing through the floor and into the main palace. This unfortunately set off a certain someone’s Ghost Sense.

“Just once I’d like to have a relaxing day,” grumbled out Danny, his eye twitching in annoyance.

“Don’t worry, Baby-Pop. We’ll find whomever it is, deal with them, and then enjoy the rest of our vacation,” replied Ember, also annoyed, as she looked around. When she finally found the perpetrator, she raised an eyebrow. “Looks like we might have an easy time with this one.”

Looking up at where Ember was looking, he felt relief. _‘At least it’s someone from World War I and not World War II. I did NOT want to deal with one of THOSE people.’_

Going Ghost, Danny flew up to meet with this new ghost, who narrowed his eyes when he caught sight of the Halfa.

“Who are you and vhat are you doing here at ze palace?” demanded the old man.

“I should be the one asking that, Spike Top,” replied Danny, staying on guard.

“S-Spike Top?! I am Baron von Otto and zis Pickelhaube iz a proud symbol of ze German military!” exclaimed the Baron as he pointed at his helmet.

“News flash, Baron. World War I is over. That helmet no longer has any meaning here in Germany.”

The Baron blinked in confusion. “Vorld Var I?”

“Never mind that. Anyway, if you’re here to cause trouble I’m going to stop you,” stated Danny, ready for a fight.

And a fight he was going to get when the Baron glared at him. “You vill show me respect, child! For I am Baron von Otto, greatest fighter pilot of ze German military!”

Danny and the Baron charged at each other, with Danny landing a punch to the Baron’s face and sending him through the wall. Danny then followed after him to prevent him from harming anyone.

“Come on, Ember! We need to help Danny!” squeaked out Danielle as she tried to go after Danny, only to be held back by Ember.

“Hold on there, Mini-Pop. Baby-Pop’s got this,” replied Ember. “You saw how he knocked that old man away like that.”

“You’re really going to say that after all of the other ghosts we’ve dealt with so far?” questioned the ghostling in a deadpan tone.

Ember just gave off a shrug. “When you’ve been a ghost for as long as I have, you learn how to get a read on other ghosts and can tell how much of a threat they are. That Otto guy might as well be a German version of the Box Ghost. Baby-Pop will be fine.”

Back with Danny, he was surprisingly having an easy time with the Baron…meaning something was about to go wrong if his experience told him anything.

 _‘Just stay on guard and keep your eyes on your opponent,’_ thought Danny as he shot an ecto blast at the Baron.

“Ach, du Lieber!” exclaimed the Baron as he was unable to dodge the attack. He was starting to get frustrated. “How can a lousy American be so strong?!”

“I know this will probably be taboo to say here, but Germany lost to America in World War I,” stated the Halfa.

“Nein! Zat iz a lie!” yelled out the Baron, glaring hatefully at the boy. _‘I must regroup if I am to get rid of zis boy!’_

Danny flew towards the Baron, ready to knock him out of the sky, only for the Baron to disappear.

“What?! Where’d he go?!” questioned Danny, looking in every direction.

“Zis izn’t over, boy!” called out the voice of the Baron. “I vill be back!”

Danny let out a growl of frustration. “Damn it.”

With nothing left to do, Danny headed back to find Ember and Danielle. It didn’t take long for him to find the girls and when they caught sight of him, they made their way over to him.

“You beat him, Baby-Pop?” asked Ember, only for Danny to shake his head.

“He actually ran away,” explained the boy. “Where to, I don’t know. I wasn’t able to get a lock on him.”

Ember frowned at that. “Great, so we still have an ego maniac to deal with while we’re here.”

“Eh, I got more Box Ghost vibes from him than Plasmius or Skulker vibes,” replied Danny, waving his hand in a “so-so” motion.

“Ember did call him the German Box Ghost earlier,” added Danielle.

An amused grin appeared on Danny’s face, while Ember let out a giggle.

“Great minds think alike,” stated Danny as he wrapped an arm around Ember’s shoulders and pulled her close. “How about we see the rest of the palace and then head back to the hotel for the day?”

The fiery girl snuggled close to her Baby-Pop. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Can we get more of those jelly doughnuts on the way back?” asked Danielle as she followed her guardians.

The two teens each let out a sigh. Of course the little one would want more food.

They really hoped she didn’t become completely like Jack Fenton in the future.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Guten tag, we have arrived in Berlin! This one actually gave me a bit of trouble. For one thing, as much as I like world culture, German culture is one I have little knowledge on and required much more research. Hell, I almost had Danny and the girls visit the Berlin Palace before I found out that it technically didn’t exist in 2007 (it’s reconstruction started in 2013 and finished in 2020).**
> 
> **Anyway, with this first act done I should have an easier time with the second act and have it and the next interlude out soon.**


	21. Born To Die In Berlin Act 2

The next day, the ghostly trio spent most of the morning in their hotel room. As to why they decided to stay in for the moment…Ember found a new favorite show to binge watch.

“Go, KITT, go!” exclaimed the fiery girl, watching the TV in excitement.

Danny had an amused grin on his face. “So I take it that you like _Knight Rider_ , huh?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Hasselhoff is great!” replied Ember, not taking her eyes off the screen. “Although I’m surprised that we can even watch it here.”

“I’m not. Hasselhoff is to Germany what Jerry Lewis is to France.”

“I wonder what else he’s been in,” said Ember as she looked through the guide. “ _Baywatch_?”

“We don’t need to watch that!” stated Danny, a little too quickly as he tensed up.

Ember raised an eyebrow in confusion before changing the channel to an episode. Upon seeing what the series was about, she whipped around to glare at Danny.

“So how often do you watch this?” questioned Ember, a hint of jealousy in her tone.

“I’ve seen maybe one or two episodes since Tucker really likes it,” explained Danny truthfully, knowing what was going through Ember’s head. “Never really got into it. Besides, I’ve already seen you in a bikini, so if I ever need to daydream I have that image burned into my memory.”

Her ponytail flickered as her face erupted into a blush. She had to turn away in embarrassment, still not used to someone finding her attractive and meaning it. She felt her Baby-Pop wrap his arms around her and pull her onto his lap.

“I only have eyes for you, Ember. That will never change,” he whispered into her ear.

She blushed up a storm once more before she snuggled up to her Baby-Pop, feeling happiness and love fill her core.

Off to the side though, the little one pouted as she watched the scene. She wanted Danny’s attention and she wanted it now!

“Danny! When are we going out?” she asked with a slight whine.

“In a bit, Danielle. I’m still trying to figure out where we could go today aside from the Memorial and the Victory Column,” replied Danny, holding up his phone, which had various landmark listings.

“We’re definitely going to the HKW,” stated Ember. “That’s where I’m holding my concert here.”

“…HKW?” questioned Danny before looking it up. “Oh, the pregnant Oyster.”

“The what?” was the confused reply from the rock diva as she turned to her man.

“It’s what Berliners have nicknamed the Haus der Kulturen der Welt,” explained the Halfa. He then showed a few pictures of the venue. “You can pretty much guess why.”

“…German humor is weird.”

“Where else are we going to?” asked Danielle, steering the conversation back on track.

It didn’t take long for Danny to find something in his search. “How about an art show?”

Both of the girls glanced at each other in confusion.

-:-

The Berlin Wall, a structure that was built to separate Berlin from 1961 to 1989. A memorial for those who had died at the Wall was created in 1998. The ghostly trio had gone to said memorial to pay their respects before heading off to see the last remnants of the Wall.

“I thought you said they tore down the Wall, Baby-Pop.”

“They did, but they’re not stupid enough to get rid of all the artwork that East Berlin painted on it.”

The three had arrived at the East Side Gallery to look at the various murals.

Ember let out a low whistle as she looked at the paintings. “I’m not an art expert, but these are actually really good.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of great pieces here,” replied Danny with a grin as Danielle looked on in curiosity.

They continued to look at the various murals, Danny and Ember commenting on them every now and then (“Hey, there’s Scrooge McDuck,” Ember had said when they came to one mural) when Danielle grew confused at a certain painting.

“Danny, why are those two guys kissing?” questioned the ghostling, pointing at the image in question.

The two teens turned to the graffiti where Ember gained a blank look and Danny rubbed the back of his head as he tried to explain this to the little one.

“That would be _My God, Help Me to Survive this Deadly Love_ , also known as _Fraternal Kiss_. It’s a painting based off a photograph of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German leader Erich Honecker performing the socialist fraternal kiss.”

“And they really kiss on the lips like that?” asked Ember. “And why would anyone even paint something like this?”

“Socialist leaders would only kiss like that if they were particularly close to each other,” explained Danny. “As to why it was painted, like much of the graffiti here it was a sign of rebellion.”

Ember perked up at the mention of a rebellion. “Wait, really?”

“East Germany was not nice place to live in,” said Danny with a frown. “If you tried to flee, you were killed.”

A frown of her own appeared on Ember’s face as she looked back at the mural. How can anyone be so willing to take a life so easily?

Not wanting to stay any longer, Ember asked Danny if they could leave, to which he agreed and the three left for the next landmark.

-:-

“Why does that statue look familiar?”

“That’s because that is a statue of Victoria, Danielle. We saw her at the Brandenburg Gate, remember?”

Danielle stared up at the large column that they were walking towards. She wondered what was with this place’s obsession with this Victoria lady if they would put her everywhere. She was about to ask Danny, but got distracted when she spotted a nearby souvenir stand. Tugging on Danny’s shirt, she pointed at it once she had his attention.

Shaking his head in amusement, Danny figured a little detour before going to the Berlin Victory Column couldn’t hurt. When they made their way over to the stand, Danielle immediately pointed to the plushy she wanted.

“That one!”

Looking at it, Danny had to raise an eyebrow in question at what it was; a pig wearing lederhosen.

“Well that’s surprising,” stated the older Halfa, before turning to the seller. “Aren’t lederhosen more of a Bavaria thing?”

The man merely smiled. “Ja, but most tourists don’t know that, so I might as well use that to my advantage.”

“…Sounds like a win-win to me,” replied Danny with a shrug.

“How is that a win-win, Baby-Pop?” questioned Ember with a deadpan tone.

“Danielle gets her plushy and the seller was at least honest with his product,” explained Danny as he handed the man some money for the pig plushy.

Ember just rolled her eyes as Danny gave the little one her new plushy.

With plushy in hand, they finally made their way to the Victory Column. Once there they purchased tickets that would allow them to climb the column and step onto the viewing platform.

“You know, Baby-Pop, I’m really starting to get why you prefer this over just flying,” stated Ember as they looked over the Berlin skyline. She then leaned into her Baby-Pop, who in turn wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close.

The sight of the teens being so close made Danielle all pouty once more. Before she could squeeze her way between and separate them, a peculiar sound caught their attention.

“Huh?” wondered Danny as he looked towards the horizon, as the sound was getting louder. His eyes widened in shock when he saw what the sound was coming from. “Are you kidding me?!”

Ember and Danielle also stared with wide eyes, trying to comprehend if what they were seeing was real. Flying towards them was a World War I fighter plane, manned by a certain ghost.

“I vill show you ze might of ze German military!” exclaimed Baron von Otto, ready to shoot down his enemies.

Not even hesitating, Danny jumped off the railing and transformed. He was not going to let this maniac hurt innocent people!

“You couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn!” yelled out Danny, getting the Baron’s attention.

“Bah! You know nothing, child!”

Danny started to maneuver through the air, flying circle around the Baron while also firing off ecto blasts. While he dealt with out of place spook, Ember grabbed hold of Danielle and headed down towards the ground.

“Ember! Let go of me! I want to help Danny!” exclaimed the ghostling as she squirmed in Ember’s grasp.

“Danny can handle the geezer. Right now, we need to get everyone out of the area so they don’t get hurt,” replied the rock diva, knowing full well that Danny needed to keep his focus on the Baron.

A growl escaped Danielle as she continued to squirm. Using as much strength as she could muster, she broke free, much to Ember’s surprise.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” yelled out Danielle as she glared at Ember. She then took off towards where Danny was fighting.

“M-Mini-Pop! Get back here!” called out Ember as she gave chase. The ghostling was going to be in so much trouble when this was all over.

Back with Danny, he was amused at how rattled the Baron was getting.

“Hold still, you little pest!” shouted the Baron as he fired his plane’s guns.

“I told you that you couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn!” called back Danny, dodging or deflecting the bullets. “You’re not as great as a fighter pilot as you think you are!”

“Bah! I am ze greatest zere iz! I was ze one who shot down Manfred von Richthofen!”

That made Danny stop in shock. “Wait, YOU were the one to end the Red Baron’s life? But you were on the same side!”

“Zere are no sides in war, child! Besides, he was getting in my way,” replied the Baron with a growl.

Danny clenched his fists in anger. It was always a mystery as to who gunned down the Red Baron, but to find out that it was one of his teammates…that didn’t sit well with Danny, regardless of what side of history the Red Baron was on.

“You’re going down,” growled out Danny as he glared at Baron von Otto.

“I rule ze skies, child! You have no power here!”

“Hey geezer! Why don’t you shut up!” called out a young voice that caught Danny’s attention.

“D-Danielle?! What are you doing here?! You should be with Ember!” demanded Danny.

“I can handle this!” replied the little one as she started to fire off ecto blasts at the plane.

“Little pest!” yelled the Baron as he turned his plane towards Danielle.

Or at least he would have if he didn’t get knocked off course when a guitar slammed into one the wings.

“Don’t even think about it, dipstick!” shouted Ember with a glare. She then turned the glare towards Danielle, who glared right back. “We’re going to have a LONG talk when we get back to the hotel, Mini-Pop.”

“I second that,” added Danny as he floated next to Ember, with a slight glare of his own as he looked at his little clone. “Right now though, I need to finish this before that egomaniac hurts anyone. That means, STAY HERE, Danielle.”

Flying back to intercept the Baron, Danny missed the look of hurt in Danielle’s eyes, although Ember did catch it.

“Shtop getting in my vay!” shouted the Baron as he righted his plane. “I am ze greatest fighter pilot of all time!”

“No! That was the Red Baron! Even his enemies respected him and his skills, something you will never have!” exclaimed Danny, ready to end this.

Charging up as much ecto energy as he could, Danny fired the blast towards the Baron and his plane. Because of how antiquated his plane was the Baron was unable to avoid the large attack.

“Ach nein,” said the Baron with a whimper.

The blast exploded on contact with the plane and from the smoke, debris fell towards the ground. As for the Baron, he too fell from the smoke, parachute open, allowing him to float down to safety. Danny floated up next to him, a blank look on his face.

“You do know that as a ghost you don’t need a parachute, right?” questioned Danny, making the Baron jump in surprise. He didn’t wait for an answer as he pulled out the Fenton Thermos and sucked up the Baron.

With the Baron dealt with Danny went back to meet up with Ember and Danielle. Upon seeing him, Ember looked relieved, while Danielle refused to look at Danny.

Once Danny touched the ground, the telltale flash of light appeared, signifying Walker’s arrival for his new prisoner. Danny looked up at the warden with a glare, causing the man to narrow his gaze onto the Halfa.

Holding up the Thermos and giving it a shake, Danny explained. “Baron von Otto, a World War I German fighter pilot. Admitted to being the one to shoot down his teammate the Red Baron just because he couldn’t stand the Red Baron getting all of the attention. Give him hell once he’s in your custody.”

Walker’s glare was focused on the Thermos. The warden had many rules that he upheld and would punish any and all rule breakers, but one thing he did NOT tolerate were backstabbers and traitors. Stepping away from the portal, he allowed Phantom to release the Baron into his new prison.

“Keep this up, punk, and I might just have to expand my prison,” stated Walker with a smirk as he took his leave.

Danny just rolled his eyes before making his way over to the girls. With a sigh, he spoke. “Let’s head back to the hotel.”

-:-

The moment they arrived back at their hotel room, Danielle immediately tried to avoid Danny and Ember, but she wasn't that lucky.

“Danielle, we’re going to have that talk,” said Danny in a stern tone.

“Why do you care?! You’re just going to yell at me and then ignore me!” yelled the ghostling as she glared at the wide-eyed teens. “So why don’t you and Ember just go and enjoy your stupid vacation and I can go back to doing what I was doing before all this?!”

With that, Danielle crawled into her bed and covered herself with blankets. Danny was confused by that outburst, while Ember was able to figure out what was REALLY bothering the child.

 _‘So that’s what this is about,’_ thought the rock diva as she walked over to Danielle’s bed and sat on the edge. “Mini-Pop, you do know that I’m not trying to take Danny away from you, right?”

Danny turned to Ember, wondering what she was talking about, while the little one popped out from her hiding place and gave Ember a pouty glare.

“Yes you are! You two act all lovey-dovey and Danny has no time for me! Why can’t you just leave us alone?!”

Ember remained calm. While she never went through something like this herself, she knew what Danielle was feeling. It was the same as any child dealing with a stepparent they thought was taking their real parent away from them.

 _‘Now that I think about it, what is the actual relationship between Baby-Pop and Mini-Pop? Actually, never mind that. Right now there’s something more important to deal with,’_ thought the fiery girl as she looked at Danielle.

Seeing that he needed to get involved, Danny made his way over and sat down on the bed. He then pulled his little clone onto his lap and held her close. “Danielle, if you felt that I was ignoring you, that wasn’t my intention. I also have no intention of replacing you either.”

“Then why does it feel that way?” she asked with a whimper.

“I can assure you that, that will never happen. I love Ember with all of my heart, she very important to me, but there’s something you have over her that’s even more important.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re a Fenton. You’re family. As the family motto goes, “No Fenton ever gets left behind”, so no matter what I will always be there for you and will never forget or replace you,” explained Danny.

“Listen to him, Mini-Pop,” said Ember as she scooted closer to the Phantom Duo. “Family should always be the most important thing to a person and if Baby-Pop DID pick me over you, I would break his legs.”

Danny glanced at Ember and saw the look in her eyes. She meant what she said. Somehow that felt relieving, knowing that Danielle had someone else who would look out for her.

“So you don’t regret me being here?” asked Danielle, afraid of what the answer could be.

It broke the teens’ cores that she felt this way.

“The only thing I regret, Danielle, was letting you be on your own for so long,” replied Danny, giving her a hug. “From now on, you’re going to stay with me so you’ll never have to be alone again.”

That did it. Tears welled up in Danielle’s eyes as she clung to Danny like a lifeline and cried into his shoulder. Danny held her tight, rubbing her back to try and sooth her. All the while, Ember watched on in silence with one thought going through her head.

_‘He really would be a great dad.’_

-:-

The next day was Ember’s concert at the House of the World’s Cultures. It was definitely needed after the emotional event that happened yesterday.

Right now, the concert was coming to a close, with the Berliners cheering after a spectacular show. This also meant it was time to head off. As the ghostly trio were making there way onto the tour bus, Danielle spoke.

“Ember?”

The rock diva turned to the little one. “What’s up, Mini-Pop?”

Danielle fidgeted a bit before she continued. “I’m sorry for yelling at you yesterday.”

Ember could only smile as she lifted the ghostling up into a hug. “It’s okay, Mini-Pop.”

Danny watched as Danielle snuggled into Ember’s embrace and only had a single thought.

_‘Ember would make for a great mom.’_

BERLIN END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Our time in Berlin has come to a close and the Phantom Family has grown even closer, now that Danielle knows she’s not going to lose Danny.**
> 
> **Fun Fact: It is unknown who really shot down Manfred von Richthofen AKA the Red Baron in real life.**
> 
> **Once again there is no MHA recap. As I mentioned previously, German culture is one I have little knowledge on compared to other cultures, so Berlin and Germany were never planned to be part of the original MHA version.**


	22. Amity Interlude 7

“So have you been enjoying your summer so far at Danny’s, Bubeleh?”

Sam blushed slightly at the wording of her grandmother’s question, as the two of them were currently making their way over to Fenton Works.

“Well it’s better than spending time with Mom and Dad,” replied Sam, glancing away. She then turned to look at her grandmother. “But why are you coming with me, Grandma Ida? If you wanted a break from Mom and Dad we could have gone and done something you wanted. Like bowling.”

“Oh don’t be like that. I know where you’d rather be right now,” replied Ida with a laugh, causing her granddaughter to blush even more.

“It’s n-not like that! Besides, I already told you that Danny’s not even here,” stated the Goth girl, whispering that last part just in case a vulture was listening.

“I know, Bubeleh. I’m just teasing you. By the way, did you place that bet for me in that little game you and your friends are playing?”

Sam gave off a grimace. “Yes, but I don’t get why you picked that place of all places.”

“Just an intuition, Bubeleh.”

The two Manson women finally made it to Fenton Works, where Cujo greeted them.

“Arf!”

“Keeping the vultures away, huh, Cujo?” asked Sam, noticing that the media has been keeping their distance since Cujo’s adoption.

“Arf!”

“Good boy.”

Sam then pressed a nearby button that turned the stairs into a ramp so Ida could get up there on her scooter. Once they entered the building, with Cujo right behind them, Sam found that they were the last to arrive.

“Hello, Sam! Hello, Ida!” greeted Maddie, giving them a happy smile.

“Hey, Mrs. Fenton,” replied Sam as she made her way over to the rest of the teens, while Ida scooted up to the kitchen table where Maddie, Jack, and Desiree were.

“So where do you think Danny went this time?” asked Kitty, getting down to business.

“I’m still holding out for Rome,” stated Jazz, looking determined. “There’s no way Danny can fail me this time!”

The other teens glanced at each other, wondering if Jazz was starting to gain a problem.

“I’m going out on a limb and saying that he visited somewhere new,” said Valerie. “He’s already been to cities in North America, Asia, and Europe. So that just leaves Africa, South America, and Australia.”

“Not a bad way of thinking actually,” said Sam, going into thought.

“Well wherever he went we can at least expect some good landmark photos,” said Tucker.

“I’ll say,” replied Ida, impressed as she was looking through the photos Danny had sent. “Danny could easily be a professional photographer if these are any indication.”

Tucker’s phone then went off. “Looks like we’ll be seeing more of his work now.”

Opening up his phone, the message read as follows:

**Hey, Tuck. Just visited what might possibly be my dad’s favorite place, what with this place being known as the Land of Chocolate and Pork.**

Confused by what Danny meant, they soon found out thanks to the pictures of the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden, Schloss Charlottenburg, the Berlin Wall Memorial, the Fraternal Kiss of the East Side Gallery, the berlin Victory Column, and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt.

“He went to Germany?” questioned Johnny, frowning. “Aw man! I betted on Rio!”

This earned him a punch to the arm from Kitty.

“Okay then, who bet on Berlin?” questioned Jazz.

Desiree used her magic to bring out the betting poll, while Sam gave her smug looking grandmother a blank look.

“How? Just how?” she asked.

“Like I told you earlier, Bubeleh. It was just an intuition.”

FIN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I just thought it would have been funny if Grandma Ida of all people would bet on Berlin as Danny’s next stop.**

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on FanFiction.net on May 12, 2020.


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